Keep your heart with all vigilance, for from it flow the springs of life.1
As we mature we tend to give more importance to our health. We exercise, hydrate, eat right, sleep. Physically keeping the heart strong is important; we have tools to monitor its upkeep—Blood Pressure (bp) to measure both Diastole and Systole;2 Blood Test to measure or examine cells, chemicals, proteins, or other substances in the blood;3 Exercise Stress Test to determine how well your heart responds during times when it’s working its hardest;4 and for severe cases, Computed Tomography or CT Scan of the heart, an imaging method that uses x-rays to create detailed pictures of the heart and its blood vessels.5 Thanks to advances in science that we are able to detect abnormalities early and avert death. These tools are like our red-light-on-a-dashboard that warn us of any malfunction.
As we were created body, soul, and spirit, keeping a close watch over our physical health is good but incomplete. When Solomon quoted David warning him to guard his heart, he was pointing to what is most important: the condition of the heart spiritually.
How may we guard our heart? The 3 verses that follow after v23 tells us.
1. Put away from you crooked speech.6 The tongue and the heart are closely paired throughout the Scriptures. Paul emphasizes this truth in his letter to the Romans; 3x he repeats the idea. But what does it say? “The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart” (that is, the word of faith that we proclaim); because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved.7 Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruits.8 James speaks at length about the importance of keeping a rein over our tongue.9
2. Let your eyes look directly forward.10 We call this the bouncing eye; should you look left or right, bounce the eye back. Don’t feed the appetite! Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh, and the desires of the eyes, and pride of life—is not from the Father but is from the world. And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever.11
3. Ponder the path of your feet.12 Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.13 Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, not sits in the seat of scoffers; but his delight is in the law of the LORD, and on his law he meditates day and night. He is like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither. In all that he does, he prospers.14
Notes:
1. Proverbs 4:23
2. https://www.webmd.com/hypertension-high-blood-pressure/guide/diastolic-and-systolic-blood-pressure-know-your-numbers
3. https://medlineplus.gov/lab-tests/what-you-need-to-know-about-blood-testing/
4. https://www.healthline.com/health/exercise-stress-test
5. https://medlineplus.gov/ency/article/007344.htm
6. Proverbs 4:24
7. Romans 10:8-10
8. Proverbs 18:21
9. James 3:1-12
10. Proverbs 4:25
11. 1 John 2:15-17
12. Proverbs 4:26
13. Psalm 119:105
14. Psalm 1:1-3
