The Guarded Heart vs Guarding Our HeartsSample

GUARD verses GUARDED

There is a big difference between guarding our heart versus living guarded.

Proverbs 4:23 says, “Guard your heart above all else, for it determines the course of your life.” The biblical understanding of guarding your heart means to be alert, through Christ, to what enters and dwells in our hearts. Be careful about what takes root in our hearts because this will determine how we live our lives. This means we must consider the things that can easily take root in our hearts, such as unforgiveness, bitterness, competitiveness, revenge and jealousy. These dynamics cause us to live guarded in an attempt to not feel the pain of hurts, insecurities around value or inadequacies around failure.

Psychology calls this a defence mechanism or self-protective strategy. Theology calls this a stronghold - any behaviour we turn to to hold safety other than God. Living guarded means we protect ourselves from hurt by not allowing anything in. We do this in our own strength, hoping the cover-up will block out the bad. However, we also end up blocking out the good, which can result in a hardening of the heart.

The amplified version of Proverbs 23:7 says, “For as he thinks in his heart, so is he (in behaviour—one who manipulates).” We all have around 40,000 sensory neurons and neurotransmitters in our hearts that contribute to our emotional experiences and perceptions of this world. Hence, as we journey through the ups and downs of life, we develop beliefs that we think will protect us from further pain. Most of the time, these beliefs are mindsets that support our defence mechanism.

For example, you may vow never to show vulnerability because it was used against you or have declared that you will never trust again due to betrayal. These beliefs then drive our behaviour of emotional guardedness towards anyone who tries to come to a close.

The complexity of the guarded heart versus guarding the heart then lands on how one processes the painful experiences of life without living with a hardened heart behind closed walls. This reading plan seeks to give you tools of truth for this tension.

Reflective Questions:

• Are you living with a hardened heart?
• Are there certain people that you have hardened your heart to?
• In what way is this robbing you from living free?

Prayer:

Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. Point out anything in me that offends you and leads me along the path of everlasting life. Amen.