"Above all else, guard your heart. For everything you do flows from it." Proverbs 4:23
What a powerful verse! Above all else--that's every other possible thing--guard...
Guard is a command here and it must be done actively, not passively. It is a conscious, constant decision.
Other translations use:
-(ERV)keep thy heart with all vigilance...
-(LSV)above every charge, keep your heart...
-(CEV)carefully guard your thoughts...
-(DRB)with all watchfulness keep thy heart...
I read a commentary that discussed the parallels between our physical hearts and our moral heart (referenced here). Our physical hearts are the central organ in our bodies, pumping life all through us. Our heart is, in the moral sense, the seat of our emotions and our affections. Such a neat connection to ponder!
I should also point out what Scripture says about our hearts:
-Jeremiah 17:9 says, "The heart is deceitful above all things and desperately sick. Who can understand it?"
So the advice, "follow your heart," isn't wise!
But there is hope!
-Ezekiel 36:26 says, "And I (God is speaking) will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh."
I'm so thankful God gives us a new heart and through Jesus, we are a new creation (2 Corinthians 5:17), and to tie it all back together, we must guard our hearts above all else!
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