05.15.24
Concentrate on Wisdom
Keep your heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life. (Proverbs 4:23)
Having looked at what Solomon has to say in both the positive and the negative form in Proverbs 4, he now places more emphasis on the positive (20-27)
He first stresses the importance of regular attention to the Word of God (20-22). My son, attend to my words; incline your ear unto my sayings. Let them not depart from your eyes; keep them in the midst of your heart. For they are life unto those that find them, and health to all their flesh.
As someone has written, “A major part of godliness lies in unrelenting attentiveness to familiar truths.” The Word of God is the only written message we have from our Creator, Sustainer and Savior. We should approach it with a proper attitude. This would mean that we should desire it and read it regularly. It must have a home in our heart.
Note the promised blessing of verse 22— in so doing, there will be life and spiritual health for our soul.
Along with this attention to the Bible, I must constantly keep guard over each part of my life (23-27). Solomon gives attention to many parts of the human body, but his first focus is the heart. Keep your heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life. (23) A literal translation of this verse might read- Above all guarding, guard your heart!
The heart is important for it speaks of the center of our being; our true self. It involves the whole person, but primarily two things: the mind and the will. If my heart is right, the rest of my life will be right. The word ‘issues’ refers to where we go and what we do—the actions that issue forth from our mind and our will.
The heart must be controlled by something. It will either be the Lord God through the Holy Spirit, or it will be our own will controlled by any of thousand false things.
Solomon urges us to know our own heart. Both the Lord and the Devil know my heart. My heart must be yielded to the Lord. This is the crux of the matter. Who controls my heart?
Only Jesus Christ deserves to be the Master of my soul.
Then Solomon gives the important warning to guard our heart. Once we have yielded our will, the control of our life to the Lord, Jesus Christ, how do we go about guarding this precious treasure? By reading, hearing, memorizing, and meditating upon the Bible. And by prayer. The Lord loves the prayers of His people and is ever open to hear their praises and cries for help.
The rest of the text speaks of God’s control of our ears, mouth, eyes and feet. (24-27) Put away from you a crooked mouth, and perverse lips put far from you. Let your eyes look right on, and let your eyelids look straight before you. Ponder the path of your feet, and let all your ways be established. Turn not to the right hand nor to the left: remove your foot from evil.
We must be so careful what we allow to enter and leave these gates He has given to us. What we look at and listen to with our eyes and ears will impact what we say with our mouths and do with our feet. We must get on the right road, and that road is Christ. Then we need to stay on the right road, for only it will lead to the right place.
If we at Immanuel Baptist Church can be of any help to you, please feel free to call upon