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Because your heart is under constant attack. When Solomon says to guard your heart, he implies that you are living in a combat zone; one in which there are casualties. Many of us are oblivious to the reality of this war. We have an enemy who is bent on our destruction. Satan did not want man to obey God but to become his own god—determining for himself reality, meaning, and ethics. “Your heart became proud on account of your beauty, and you corrupted your wisdom because of your splendor. So I threw you to the earth; I made a spectacle of you before kings” Ezekiel 28:17 (NKJV). He not only opposes God, but he opposes everything that is aligned with Him; including us. Keep your mouth free of perversity; keep corrupt talk far from your lips. Let your eyes look straight ahead; fix your gaze directly before you. Give careful thought to the paths for your feet and be steadfast in all your ways.” When Solomon refers to guarding the heart, he really means the inner core of a person, for the thoughts, feelings, desires, will, and choices that make that person who he/she is. The mind of a man reflects who he really is, not simply his actions or words. Just as there are many diseases and disorders that can affect the physical heart, there are many ailments of the spiritual heart that can impair growth and development as a believer. Just like in the natural, so is the in the spiritual, hardening the heart will cause, Atherosclerosis which is a hardening of the arteries due to accumulated cholesterol plaques and scarring in the artery walls. Hardening of the spiritual heart can also occur. Hardening of the heart occurs when we are presented with God’s truth, and we refuse to acknowledge or accept it.
That is why God examines the heart of a man, not simply his outward appearance and what he appears to be. “But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The Lord does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart” 1 Samuel 16:7 (NKJV). Although Egypt was stricken with one calamity after another when the pharaoh refused to release the Israelites from their bondage, he hardened his heart against the truth that God Almighty intended to deliver His people from Egypt. “But the Egyptian magicians did the same things by their secret arts, and Pharaoh’s heart became hard; he would not listen to Moses and Aaron, just as the Lord had said” Exodus 7:22 (NKJV). “But this time also Pharaoh hardened his heart and would not let the people go” Exodus 8:32 (NKJV). “When Pharaoh saw that the rain and hail and thunder had stopped, he sinned again: He and his officials hardened their hearts” Exodus 9:34 (NKJV). There are many things that can harden the heart and lead a person to deny God, and just like cholesterol blocks blood flow, they keep a believer from having a free flow of God’s peace and blessings derived from obedience. Guarding against a rebellious spirit and cultivating a spirit of submissive obedience to God’s Word, therefore, is the first step in guarding the heart. Heart murmurs are abnormal flow patterns due to faulty heart valves. In Psalm 95 King David pleaded with his people not to harden their hearts in rebellion against God as they did in the wilderness. “Do not harden your hearts, as in the rebellion,As in the day of trial in the wilderness,When your fathers tested Me;They tried Me, though they saw My work” Psalm 95:8–9 (NKJV). Heart valves act as doors to prevent the backward flow of blood into the heart. Spiritual heart murmurs occur when believers engage in complaining, gossip, disputes, and contention.
The Bible tells us that our thoughts often dictate who we become. “As water reflects the face, so one’s life reflects the heart” Proverbs 27:19 (NKJV). By engaging in these activities, believers shift their focus away from the plans, purposes, and past blessings of God to the things of the world. God sees this as a lack of faith, and without faith, it is impossible to please God. “And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him” Hebrews 11:6 (NKJV). Instead, Christians are instructed to strive for contentment in all things, trusting in God to provide what is needed in His good time. Guarding against a complaining spirit and cultivating a spirit of gratitude and trust is the second step toward guarding the heart. Congestive heart failure is an inability of the heart to successfully pump blood through the body due to weaknesses within its walls. Congestive heart failure can result from hypertension (high blood pressure), myocardial infarctions (heart attacks), and abnormal enlargement of the heart. The spiritual equivalents are anger, giving in to temptation, and pride. Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.” Every Christian is locked in a constant, intense war with demonic forces. Many of us become so intent on fighting the external spiritual war that we forget that much of our battle is not with external forces, but with our own mind and thoughts. Sin always begins in the mind. A sinner must first conceive and dwell on the sinful action before he actually carries it out. The first line of defense, therefore, must be to refuse to even contemplate a wrongful action.
Proverbs 16:5, says, “Everyone proud in heart is an abomination to the Lord.” Pride was the first great sin of Satan, when he thought that he could be like God and incited one third of the angels to attempt a coup in heaven. Proverbs 16:18 tells us that pride leads to destruction. “Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall” Proverbs 16:18 (NKJV). For this reason, Satan was cast from heaven. Satan also tempted Eve in the Garden of Eden by appealing to her ego. He said, “For God knows that when you eat from [the forbidden tree] your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” Eve desired to be as wise as God, so she capitulated to Satan’s advice to eat of the fruit of the tree. Pride was, therefore, the downfall of man, as well. This satanic philosophy is the foundational philosophy of sorcery, secular humanism, and New Age mysticism. Avoiding anger, pride, and temptation are also critical elements of guarding the heart. The apostle Paul instructs us how to guard our hearts daily. “Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things” Philippians 4:8 (NKJV). Dwelling on these things will help to build a guard fence around our hearts. The apostle Paul tells us to take every thought captive, so that it conforms to the will of God. “For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ” 2 Corinthians 10:3–5 (NKJV). We must not allow anything unwholesome to gain control of who you are. Since life is lived from the inside out, safeguard your heart. You cannot live well with a contaminated heart; everything you do has its origins there.