Guard Your Heart

 

Guard your heart above all else, for it is the source of life. Don’t let your mouth speak dishonestly, and don’t let your lips talk deviously. Let your eyes look forward; fix your gaze straight ahead. Carefully consider the path for your feet, and all your ways will be established. Don’t turn to the right or to the left; keep your feet away from evil. ~ Proverbs 4:23-27 CSB

 

            September went by like a whirlwind! A few significant events set the pace and upended the course on which our family navigated: selection for promotion to Major, household goods arrived from Japan, household items from three years of storage in South Carolina arrived, preps for me to deploy to South Korea to join my Battalion (who’ve been there since May), and the Soldier Readiness Process (SRP) which has been the most challenging for me, personally.

            In Proverbs 4:23-27, the first verse has been the crux of my focus for the last month … “Guard your heart above all else, for it is the source of life.” I hit a hurdle while doing SRP. The provider expressed his concern about high blood pressure and bad cholesterol. Both of those issues are failures, on my part, to guard my heart above all else. Granted, there’s some degree of genetic or hereditary issue  (aren’t those the same thing) of which I am now being made aware but let’s be honest … I need to change some things … I need to actively – purposefully – guard my heart above all else.

            Now, the beauty of this revelation into my physical wellbeing is it’s a great allegory for the state of my own spiritual wellbeing. As a matter of fact, I’d be so bold as to liken it to the spiritual wellbeing of every one of us. Most of us believe, like I do, we’re in a good place spiritually. Honestly, if no one is breathing down my neck and telling me I’m doing something wrong, I default to the belief I’m just doing the right thing and I’ll just continue doing what I believe to be correct. But when someone else … usually someone I respect … points out a concern or enlightens me to a blind spot in my own life, I must consider what I’m being told. I must consider the reality of my own (potential) imperfection.

            Fortunately, in both the physical and spiritual sense, options exist to overcome imperfection. Medical developments over the course of our own lifetimes have been nothing short of spectacular. Amid the ongoing debate concerning the mandate of vaccinations to combat Covid, I’m in awe of the exponential development speed with which we have been able combat viruses, diseases, or most bacteria which is out to eliminate humans. I’m awestruck with our ability to reach through technology and share information on a global scale. However, I’m also aware that everything that looks good or goes out of its way to get you and I to make us think it looks good … isn’t always good.

            Beauty can be deceitful. People can be deceitful. Even our own hearts can be deceitful. That’s the importance of verses 24-27. Don’t speak dishonestly. Don’t talk deviously. Keep your eyes forward; focused on what’s ahead. In a nutshell, don’t let things distract you from being who God has called you to be. If I relate this back to my heart story, at this point in my life, I must focus; I must not allow myself to get distracted from what I need to do to remain healthy or increase my health. I must consider what I eat and drink, my rest cycles, and commit to a more rigorous cardio program (even more that what I’m already doing!).

            I’m at this point in my life, in some way, because I didn’t carefully consider the path of my feet. Honestly, I lived life open ended and now, I’m forced to reevaluate exactly what is best for long-term survivability (like anyone else besides God knows the number of my days). For the larger part of my life, I’ve lived the Def Leppard “Rock of Ages” intro … “It’s better burn out than to fade away.” To some extent, I still want to live life that way because a life without risk is not a life fully lived in my opinion.

God DIDN’T put me on this Earth to have a life of ease … to play life safe. I don’t think that was or is his intent for any of us. But He did give us life to live and live it smartly … wisely. He didn’t call me or you to a life of safety, comfort, entitlement, or obligatory prosperity. He did say, however, “I have told you these things so that in me you may have peace. You will have suffering in this world. Be courageous! I have conquered the world” (John 16:33).

All this to say … keep your eyes and heart on TRUE NORTH. Let that sink in! If you want to be the best dancer in the world, stay focused on that endeavor. If you want to get our Afghan friends out of Taliban influence, keep your eyes, heart, and action on that effort. If you’re absolutely against government mandates, then focus all your energy to that end. If I want a stronger heart, I must do what it takes to make it happen: diet, rest, physical activity, risk, and laughter!