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Day 1: The Heart

"Above all else, guard your heart."  Proverbs 4:23

In Jewish literature, the heart was understood to be the seat of our emotions and desires.  There are two ways we can seek to guard our hearts:

• As a bodyguard - whose role is to protect
• As a prison guard - whose role is to restrain

The Bodyguard

A good bodyguard pays attention to the vulnerabilities of those they are protecting. For us to deal with porn, it is essential that we know the vulnerabilities of our hearts.

When we are tired, lonely, stressed, overwhelmed, disconnected, angry... these are the times that we are at risk of using unhealthy things to self-soothe. For some of us, it's another pint of beer, or bar of chocolate. For others of us, it's an image search on a porn site.

Being able to "figure the trigger", and working out what are the emotions that most prompt us to self-soothe, is the important first step to guarding your heart.

The Prison Guard

Our culture profits from the monarchy of our hearts. Corporations make money from our entitled pursuit to satisfy all our desires, wants and aspirations. But scripture tells us that our hearts can also be cruel; corrupt rulers needing to be impeached and ultimately deposed.

Jesus, our true master, tells us to pick up our cross daily. Now, he's not talking about our physical bodies being crucified, so what does he mean?

Someone once said, "The cross is a two finger salute to our ego." You may not agree exactly with that opinion but it is true that part of guarding our hearts involves saying no to our wants, so we can contain our distorted or dictatorial desires.

Of course, this is easy to say, but much more difficult to live out!

One of the practices of Jesus which can help in this area is the ancient discipline of fasting. Choosing to fast regularly can help teach us to say no to ourselves. Over time, if we learn to say no to smaller things (like lunch) it strengthens our ability to say no to some of our deeper appetites (like porn).

Over to you...

1. What are some of the emotions, times and environments (triggers) where your heart may be vulnerable?
2. Can you identify the emotions that have led to your most regrettable decisions?
3. How can you watch those emotions carefully, before they become overwhelming?
4. What can you do to process that emotion in a healthier way?
5. What habits can you build to help you be the bodyguard of your heart?