BY REV. STEPHEN HAMMOND
Bethel Community Church
“Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it,” Proverbs 4:23.
Heart work is hard work, but it is important work that many do not consider very often. Solomon, in all of his wisdom, was preparing his son to be the next King of Israel as he wrote the book of Proverbs.
He included many pieces of advice in the thirty-one chapters, yet in this verse, he says something that he only says this one time, “Above all else.”
In all the words of wisdom that Solomon penned to his son, this was the most important principle that he wanted to stress. The next words, “guard your heart,” carried the weight of the throne behind them. Solomon knew that the heart of a leader contained the motive for everything that person would do. The principle is the same for us. Our heart contains the motives, the attitudes, the emotions to all of the things we say and do.
If our heart is not right within us, our words and actions will not be right. Jesus tells us in the Gospels that whatever is in our hearts will come out of our mouths.
Solomon then explains why we should guard our hearts, because everything we do will flow from our hearts. That is an all-inclusive “everything.” This is why heart work is so important.
We should search our hearts and make sure they are clean from anger, bitterness, offense, bad attitudes and out-of-control emotions before we make decisions, react to people or even parent our children.
A heart that is cluttered with negative thoughts or emotions can change the direction of someone’s life. A heart that is clean of such things can keep that life on track to become everything it can be.
I encourage everyone to check their heart. Ask God to help, He will surely assist in this important process because He wants you to be the very best you possible.
