You know what an inoculation is, don't you? It is a vaccine that either prevents you from getting an illness or, if you get it, you get a much milder case.
The book of Proverbs is one big life-letter from a father to his son. At first glance, the book seems like a gigantic jumble, as if it was written over a period of days, weeks or years.
Today's verse is Proverbs 4:23 (NASB)
Watch over your heart with all diligence, for from it flow the springs of life.
This verse jumps off the page with its significance and importance.
In other versions the phrase "the springs of life" are translated "the source of life", "the issues of life", "the course of your life".
The other day while conversing with a young person I became quite alarmed. The things the young man was saying about himself were poisonous. I hope he was "jackin' me up"; but, I fear that was not the case. If he seriously believes what he was saying, he is setting himself up for a long, hard road, if not downright heartbreak and failure.
What is "the heart" in this scriptural context? Is it a person's mouth?
Well, no, but the Bible is clear the words that come out of the mouth FLOW from the heart.
(Matthew 15:18)
Most Bible teachers believe that "the heart" represents in scripture a person's thoughts and emotions - - - those things that motivate and mold us.1 Some refer to those as one's "thought life".
There is a belief that we just schlepp out of the womb "as we are" and that there is little we can consciously and willfully do to govern who we will go on to become. This false belief is typified in "That's just the way I am". Nonsense! Yes, we are all born with genetic dispositions. You may, like me, know someone who wakes up singing or someone who has to be dragged kicking and screaming from the bed. There are "glass half-full" people and "glass half empty" people. These pre-dispositions are seen in very young children. All parents know that.
However, and this is a big "however", that is not the whole story.
The word "heart" is mentioned 800 times in the Old Testament, with 200 of those mentions referring to a person's thought life. It is a critically important theme. Tell me what you spend your time thinking about, and I will tell you who you are. Or, as Proverbs 23:7 says, "As a man thinks in his heart, so is he."
Just because a thought pops into our heads does not make it true. The enemy, the devil, puts all kinds of evil thoughts in there. The thing is: we must not let satan use his diabolical thoughts to shape who we become, to control us. If we do allow that, our lives can veer off the path ... into ruin.
Here is a key: evil thoughts are often born from what we allow into our minds in the first place - - - the things we watch, the things we read, the company we keep, the people to whom we listen. Our thoughts form our attitudes; our attitudes shape our actions.
“Sow a thought, reap a deed.
Sow a deed, reap a habit.
Sow a habit, reap a character.
Sow a character, reap a destiny.”
There was a king of Israel named Jehu. He became an evil king because he was not wise about this.
But Jehu was not careful to walk in the law of the LORD, the God of Israel, with all his heart;
2 Kings 10:31 (NIV)
Conscious decisions about what we allow to take residence in our hearts, in our thoughts, are ours. We cannot fully control what thoughts enter our minds; but, we can decide what thoughts we embrace.
What is the remedy then? Where is the "counterpunch" to the devil's strategies to control our minds and hearts? The secret is in "inoculation" - - deliberately filling our hearts and minds with the Word of God. Solomon wrote the book of Proverbs, but his father, David, wrote many of the Psalms. In 119:11, says
Thy word have I hid in my heart that I might not sin against thee.
KJV
I have stored up your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you.
ESV
I love how the English Standard Version translates "hid"! "Storing up" the Word of God will inoculate the mind against pernicious thoughts sinking tent stakes and setting up camp in the Christian's mind. "Stored up" = "Shored up". This is not a superstition. Rather, it is a powerful truth, a particularly potent strategy: inoculating our minds at the start of each day and then reminding ourselves of God's truths around the clock.
Source:
1 http://www.biblestudytools.com/bible-study/topical-studies/how-to-guard-your-heart.html
No comments:
Post a Comment