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“Bless your heart.” My Aunt said when thanking me for bringing a condiment up from the basement to the dinner table. “You’re welcome” I said with a smile. What’s this big deal about my heart?

“Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life.” (Proverbs 4:23.)

“Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God, trust also in me.” Jesus said to His disciples after telling them of His upcoming death. Even Jesus talks about hearts.

Throughout the Bible we hear lots of stuff about the heart: faithful heart, forgiving heart, thankful heart, clean heart, hard heart. What is this organ that is at the heart of life? (Pun intended.)

Everyone can identify with a sorrowful heart. Sadness envelopes us when someone discovers some sin that we’re responsible for. God wants His children happy and free. What does it mean to guard our heart?

The most obvious way to guard one’s heart is to walk blameless through life. Then we never sin, never make someone cry, never get caught lying, cheating or stealing. Oh wait! We DO sin. No one is perfect, no one is blameless. Except Jesus.

Some people are good at making fun of others. Some people are always angry. Some people are always looking for trouble. Believers should not seek these people as friends. They bring others down, cause heartache, or pick fights. They are not easy to love, as Christ commands us. We can love them without joining them. We can speak lovingly to them without following them, agreeing with everything they do and say. We can keep our distance from them, so to not be associated with their crowd.

Parents may advise kids, “Don’t hang around with him. He’s not your friend.” They are warning, protecting hearts from breaking when someone has wrong intentions for us. It’s good to trust older people when being advised, especially if they are loved ones. Parents, older siblings, and Aunts and Uncles have seen more and lived through hurt. They recognize signs that harm, and they warn us of danger. It’s wise to listen to advice instead of thinking we know best.

Take Home Nugget

Not protecting one’s heart is as careless as not loving self. Just as self love teaches us to approach God as Abba, Father, protecting one’s heart shows others that we are worthy of God’s love. Don’t allow confidence to let down your guard. This will throw you off balance, and your heart becomes the open vulnerable target of the evil one. Remain vigilant, watching out for others as well as yourself.

Holy Father we find it hard to choose between friends.
Teach us discernment to avoid involvement
With people who don’t regard us highly.
Good people are the ones to whom our heart bends.