Proverbs 4:23. Above all else guard your heart. Talking about trust ??

[CC7799]

Proverbs chapter 3:23. To guard our heart. The only real productive choice is to put boundaries in place that reduce the level of access you give that person to match their level of responsibility.

Do members have better insight or expansion on this ??

 

[Kayla McCanny]

This is one of the verses I've had been holding tightly too.

 

[PS95]

Proverbs chapter 3:23. To guard our heart. The only real productive choice is to put boundaries in place that reduce the level of access you give that person to match their level of responsibility.

Do members have better insight or expansion on this ??

Hi,

In Hebrew, v 24 is "Above all keeping, keep your heart-"-that's our mind & thoughts & affections, which are the cause of our actions. So, when we keep the love of God and His instruction in our hearts we do well. Out of our hearts our mouth speak- Luke 6 and Matt 15

Jesus said- "For the mouth speaks out of that which fills the heart. 35“The good man brings out of his good treasure what is good; and the evil man brings out of his evil treasure what is evil. 36“But I tell you that every careless word that people speak, they shall give an accounting for it in the day of judgment. 37“For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.”

10After Jesus called the crowd to Him, He said to them, “Hear and understand. 11“It is not what enters into the mouth that defiles the man, but what proceeds out of the mouth, this defiles the man.”
12Then the disciples came and said to Him, “Do You know that the Pharisees were offended when they heard this statement?” 13But He answered and said, “Every plant which My heavenly Father did not plant shall be uprooted. 14“Let them alone; they are blind guides of the blind. And if a blind man guides a blind man, both will fall into a pit.”


When read in context is self explanatory imo. See the bold.. Prov 4


10Hear, my son, and accept my sayings
And the years of your life will be many.

11I have directed you in the way of wisdom;
I have led you in upright paths.

12When you walk, your steps will not be impeded;
And if you run, you will not stumble.

13Take hold of instruction; do not let go.
Guard her, for she is your life.

14Do not enter the path of the wicked
And do not proceed in the way of evil men.

15Avoid it, do not pass by it;
Turn away from it and pass on.

16For they cannot sleep unless they do evil;
And they are robbed of sleep unless they make someone stumble.

17For they eat the bread of wickedness
And drink the wine of violence.

18But the path of the righteous is like the light of dawn,
That shines brighter and brighter until the full day.

19The way of the wicked is like darkness;
They do not know over what they stumble.

20My son, give attention to my words;
Incline your ear to my sayings.

21Do not let them depart from your sight;
Keep them in the midst of your heart.

22For they are life to those who find them
And health to all their body.

23Watch over your heart with all diligence,
For from it flow the springs of life.

24Put away from you a deceitful mouth
And put devious speech far from you.

25Let your eyes look directly ahead
And let your gaze be fixed straight in front of you.

26Watch the path of your feet
And all your ways will be established.

 

[Lambano]

When read in context is self explanatory imo.

I heartily agree. I would add Jesus's explanation of the "It's what comes out of a man's mouth that defiles him" statement:

21 For from within, out of the heart comes the evil thoughts, sexual immorality, thefts, murders, adultery, 22 greed, wickedness, deceit, indecent behavior, envy, slander, pride, and foolishness. 23 All these evil things come from within and defile the person.” Mark 7:21-23

From the context of Proverbs 4:23-26, I think that's what Solomon meant by "guard your heart". Not from what is outside, but from what is inside.

23 Above all else, guard your heart,
for everything you do flows from it.
24 Keep your mouth free of perversity;
keep corrupt talk far from your lips.
25 Let your eyes look straight ahead;
fix your gaze directly before you.
26 Give careful thought to the paths for your feet
and be steadfast in all your ways.

 

[PS95]

I heartily agree. I would add Jesus's explanation of the "It's what comes out of a man's mouth that defiles him" statement:

21 For from within, out of the heart comes the evil thoughts, sexual immorality, thefts, murders, adultery, 22 greed, wickedness, deceit, indecent behavior, envy, slander, pride, and foolishness. 23 All these evil things come from within and defile the person.” Mark 7:21-23

From the context of Proverbs 4:23-26, I think that's what Solomon meant by "guard your heart". Not from what is outside, but from what is inside.

Yes, that's the perfect addition!

 

[Lambano]

Yes, that's the perfect addition!

Thanks, but I may have to soften my position. I just saw a resurrected old prayer request thread about a porn addiction. Does that kind of stuff also go into the heart? Or is watching it the result of an already corrupted heart? Or both?

 

[PS95]

Thanks, but I may have to soften my position. I just saw a resurrected old prayer request thread about a porn addiction. Does that kind of stuff also go into the heart? Or is watching it the result of an already corrupted heart? Or both?

If you're saying you have a problem with porn and feel tempted.. There is a lot in NT warning against lust.
Pray and ask for strength. Resist the temptation and pray and you will be given the victory.

 

[PS95]

Thanks, but I may have to soften my position. I just saw a resurrected old prayer request thread about a porn addiction. Does that kind of stuff also go into the heart? Or is watching it the result of an already corrupted heart? Or both?

you married? If so- go show your wife some love.

 

[Lambano]

If you're saying you have a problem with porn and feel tempted.. There is a lot in NT warning against lust.
Pray and ask for strength. Resist the temptation and pray and you will be given the victory.

Oh good grief, Charlie Brown.

It was somebody else's prayer request, but I do know how corruptive that stuff can be. You don't want to let it into your heart.

 

[Kayla McCanny]

I also think iylt means beliefs about one's self or also discernment. If a person speaks death over you, guard your heart. Don't believe the lies and hold on to who you are in christ.

 

[Kayla McCanny]

When your heart is attacked it can kill you.

 

[BlueNightingale]

Proverbs chapter 3:23. To guard our heart. The only real productive choice is to put boundaries in place that reduce the level of access you give that person to match their level of responsibility.

Do members have better insight or expansion on this ?

Shortest simple explanation would be that it is not just about people. It can be about entertainment, music, movies, etc.

When you put good things in like the word of God, you are more likely by default to speak out or work through the will of God.

When you input horror or sexually explicit things in your head, your output is more likely to be unclean.

Think of a glass. I pour in water, I get water. I pour in mud, I get mud.

 

[Lambano]

you married? If so- go show your wife some love.

While I think that's a great idea, after midnight wouldn't work for either one of us.

 

[Lambano]

What I DON'T think it means is guarding your heart so tightly that you don't let anything or anybody in because you're afraid of sinning, or afraid of getting hurt.

I touch no one
And no one touches me.
I am a rock.
I am an island.
And a rock feels no pain.
And an island never cries.
-Paul Simon

I'm not sure why the local Wesley Foundation at my university had that Simon and Garfunkel song in their "hymnbook", but it rings true here. When you guard your heart too tightly (even against possibly sinning), you're not open to when God brings something new into your life. I have to wonder if that was part of the reason why the Pharisees were not open to hearing what Jesus had to say.

 

[Kayla McCanny]

What I DON'T think it means is guarding your heart so tightly that you don't let anything or anybody in because you're afraid of sinning, or afraid of getting hurt.

I touch no one
And no one touches me.
I am a rock.
I am an island.
And a rock feels no pain.
And an island never cries.
-Paul Simon

I'm not sure why the local Wesley Foundation at my university had that Simon and Garfunkel song in their "hymnbook", but it rings true here. When you guard your heart too tightly (even against possibly sinning), you're not open to when God brings something new into your life. I have to wonder if that was part of the reason why the Pharisees were not open to hear what Jesus had to say.

That's true. Probably a healthy balance and asking God for discernment

 

[Lambano]

I remember from a long-ago bible study...

In the ancient Hebrew culture, the "heart" was the seat of the motivations. Solomon is saying to guard our motivations.

 

[Lambano]

In the ancient Hebrew culture, the "heart" was the seat of the motivations.

In that culture, the seat of the tender emotions was said to be the bowels, not the heart like in our culture. That gives us some really weird word-for-word KJV translations like this one: