My child, be attentive to my words; incline your ear to my sayings. Do not let them escape from your sight; keep
them within your heart. For they are
life to those who find them, and healing to all their flesh. Keep your heart with all vigilance, for from
it flow the springs of life. Put away
from you crooked speech, and put devious talk far from you. Let your eyes look directly forward, and your
gaze be straight before you. Keep
straight the path of your feet, and all your ways will be sure. Do not swerve to the right or to the left; turn
your foot away from evil. Proverbs 4:20-27 (NRSV)
The advice
of Mother or Father to a child should carry the kind of weight and wisdom
Solomon shared with his children – that which he’d learned at his father, David’s
knee. The wisest man ever shared with
his son how “guarding his heart” was the greatest and most urgent requirement
for living a godly life. Can it be said
any plainer than that? Unguarded is
unprepared!
My
first-ever practice with our high school football team demonstrated to me what
can happen if you are unguarded. The
coach wanted me to catch a pass. I’d
rehearsed the “moves” in my mind…four quick steps off the line, zig left, cut
right, up the field for a touchdown; I was going deep!
The
defensive player guarding me let me take the first step forward and then
knocked me on my blessed assurance! I
was concentrating so much on my fancy footwork and the praise the coach would
heap on his best new wide receiver…I never saw it coming. There was no touchdown for me, only a great lesson
about being “unguarded” (and a ringing-in-the-ear headache)!
Remember what
Solomon said:
Ears open – listen to wise advice and poor advice with heart mind and soul, but
make sure you are prepared to separate the wheat from the chaff; weigh advice carefully!
Heart straight – don’t be easily thrown off track; know your goals and stay on
course.
Eyes on the road – concentrate; distractions will sideline you if you snooze!
Sure foot – recognize evil for what it is and stick with truth.
Today…for YOU
Guard your heart and hearth.
Life is indeed a tough teacher, but it’s more than just the elements and
chance occurrences of circumstances. There
is also the enemy, Satan; he is “roaming about, seeking whom he may devour”.
(1 Peter 5:8)
Don’t be unguarded; put on the full armor of God!
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