Guard your heart against invasions
This week, at my husband’s work place, someone broke into one of the employee’s cars and stole his cell phone. This happened in broad daylight during the work day and it was the first time anything like this had happened there.
It made me think about all the precautions we all take in life to protect ourselves and our possessions. We lock our doors to keep our houses safe. We have security systems that will alert the police if the premises has been invaded.
We alarm our cars and business, buy guard dogs to patrol, and sometimes even hire armed guards to keep things safe. Even with all these safety measures, we still get violated and our stuff is taken from us by those who don’t honor others.
It also makes me wonder why we spend so much energy protecting our things and not nearly as much time protecting our hearts and minds. This world is full of things that can invade the human heart and cause evils thoughts and actions.
Think about the things you read or listen to. Are they appropriate for a Christian? Do they have words that we don’t need in our lives or that we might repeat because we have been exposed to them?
What do we watch on TV? Adults don’t have parental controls that are set, but maybe they should!
Lately I have noticed that some of the things that creep into our lives seem very dark and depressing. I personally don’t think anyone needs those emotions in their life.
God doesn’t want darkness and sin to enter our lives to destroy us. Jesus Christ is the light of the world, not the darkness.
In Psalm 101:3, it says, “I will not set before my eyes anything that is worthless.” So, you have to judge whether or not things are worth of your personal time.
Even when we work really hard at keeping things out, they still get in. We are all part of a society and are naturally going to be exposed to the things that society deems acceptable.
As I journey through life, I have found that I don’t always agree with “society” and because of this, I have decided to follow the advice given in Philippians 4:8 which says:
“Finally, brother, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.”
I know that I will still be exposed to worldly things because I live in the world, but I can make a conscious effort to reduce the impact. I would like to encourage you to do the same thing. Don’t just accept things because it is the easy path.
Guard your heart and mind as diligently as you guard your possessions because you are more important to God than any item you might own.
Things can be replaced but you can’t replace your soul.