What Does It Mean To “Guard Your Heart”? (A Meditation on Proverbs 4:23)

“Keep your heart with all diligence, for out of it spring the issues of life” (Prov. 4:23, NKJV)

This verse has always felt like a bit of an enigma.

When I was a teenager growing up in church and going to church summer camps, this verse was referred to frequently in bible studies as an admonition to not rush into romantic relationships, and to be careful who we gave our heart to.

The primary message was to guard against getting emotionally entangled too soon.  And don’t get me wrong, that’s good advice for teenagers.  It’s a bit oversimplistic, however, and I later realized that my subconscious takeaway from this verse was one of putting a barrier up, being guarded and not overly vulnerable.

To be honest, I hadn’t given this particular verse a ton of thought as I passed into adulthood, but it caught my attention recently during my morning bible reading.

I’ve spent some time meditating on it, and I’ve come to the realization that it’s SO much more than that.  We often look at Proverbs through a more practical “life advice” lens.  While this verse can be applied very practically as well, it contains a deep, foundational spiritual truth that we ignore at our own peril.

What does it mean to “guard your heart”?

Part of why it can be tough to understand this concept is because the New King James translation (NKJV, my typical go-to) doesn’t do us any favors.

It’s helpful to see how some other translations have rendered Proverbs 4:23:

“Above all else, guard your heart; for it is the source of life’s consequences” (CJB)

“Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it” (NIV)

“Keep your heart with all vigilance, for from it flow the springs of life” (ESV)

“Guard your heart above all else, for it determines the course of your life” (NLT)

In the bible, when it talks about the “heart”, it’s not simply the physical organ that pumps our blood, or even our “feelings place”.

It’s much more than that…the heart means our mind, our will, the “inner man”.  It is the seat of who we TRULY are.

The heart drives our actions and influences our thinking and behavior.  It’s critical that we are aware of what we say and do, because over time, our thoughts and actions will shape and mold our hearts—often without us even realizing it.

So that’s what we are to guard, but how exactly do we do that?  It’s helpful to dig a bit into the word translated “guard” or “keep”.  That’s natsar (H5341), and it means to protect, maintain, or keep safe, as well as to preserve and to observe carefully.

The word is used a lot in the Psalms, particularly speaking of God’s role in preserving, protecting, and guarding us (Ps. 12:7, 25:21, 32:7), as well as in how the righteous “keep” His covenant and commandments (Ps. 78:7, 119:2).

It’s also used in the Song of Moses, speaking of how God tended to Israel.  It says, “He encircled him, He instructed him, He kept [natsar] him as the apple of His eye. As an eagle stirs up its nest, hovers over its young…so the Lord led him” (Deut. 32:10-11).  The impression we gain from this usage adds a layer of careful attention and deep concern to our understanding of natsar.

We also see this word translated in II Kings as “watchtower” or “watchmen” (II Kings 17:9, 18:8).  Again, we are to take away an understanding of vigilance and accountability—having an appropriate perspective and enough distance to see clearly and raise an alarm when danger approaches.

You might also like:  Maintaining a “Sober” Mind In A Spiritually Intoxicated World

Why is this so critical in our walk of faith?

In Proverbs 23:19 we’re told, “My child, listen and be wise: Keep your heart on the right course” (NLT).  The NLT similarly translates our original verse as, “guard your heart above all else, for it determines the course of your life” (NLT).  In other words, we must guard it like our life depends on it—because it does!

But why is that?  What are some of the dangers of a heart that is not tended and guarded?  Let’s look at just a few…

Unguarded hearts can easily get distracted and drift away from God (Heb. 2:1).  Like the person in the parable of the sower and seed who received the word, but the cares of this world and deceitfulness of riches choked it out, our hearts are easily distracted and pulled away from God (Matt. 13:22).

Hearts left unguarded can be easily lost when a trial comes along, as doubt, fear, and our own desires will undermine and unravel our faith (James 1:2-8, 14-15).  The parable of the sower describes this as the person who doesn’t have deep roots, and so falls away when trials or persecutions come (Matt. 13:20-21).

Over time our hearts can become calloused or hardened if not carefully tended.  As we become numb and desensitized to sin, our spiritual eyes and ears become dull and we lose the ability to perceive the working of God’s spirit, the whisper of His voice (Matt. 13:15, Rom. 2:5).  As a result, we no longer see the need for repentance, and eventually pull away from God.  Paul describes this as having our minds darkened and hearts hardened, having no shame and “losing all feeling” (Eph. 4:19, CJB & NLT).

You might also like:  The Signs of Spiritual Erosion

How can we “keep” our hearts the way that God commands?

Acknowledging that this is one of the most foundational spiritual principles is different from actually being able to DO it.  And we can’t do it…alone, that is.  This is something we are only able to do with God’s grace, His help, and having the holy spirit working in us.  So that’s the first thing to know.

But where do we go from there?

If we go back to our anchor verse, it actually starts to give us a tangible picture of how we can protect our hearts:

“Guard your heart above all else, for it determines the course of your life.

Avoid all perverse talk; stay away from corrupt speech.  Look straight ahead, and fix your eyes on what lies before you.  Mark out a straight path for your feet…don’t get sidetracked; keep your feet from following evil” (Prov. 4:24-27).

Our words are a good starting point.  We know that our mouths speak from the state of our hearts (Luke 6:45).  One way to know our heart has been compromised is to watch our words and their impact.

In the Psalms, David asks God to “Set a guard…over my mouth; keep watch over [natsar] the door of my lips” (Ps. 141:3).  James reinforces that our words (“the tongue”) control the whole body and must be tamed with God’s help (James 3).

Peter warns us to humble ourselves and cast our cares upon God, and to “be sober and vigilant!” (I Pet. 5:8).  In order to exercise good judgment we must be alert and watching for danger, clear-minded and uninfluenced by intoxicants or distractions.

There’s a strong active—and proactive—aspect here, of a watchman scanning his surroundings to see if danger approaches.  We have to know what danger looks like and have the presence of mind to discern when something is off.

One of the most important aspects of protecting our hearts and minds, thoughts and actions, is to monitor what we allow in.  Like a walled city that carefully screens who enters and leaves through the guarded gate, we should be aware of and intentional about what comes into our minds.

This includes the obvious things like movies, books, and music, as well as what we allow ourselves to dwell on…the people we spend the most time with…and our own secret thoughts and feelings, such as anger, resentment, pride, and jealousy.

And this is not only about removing or keeping things out, but also what we choose to focus on and intentionally bring into our minds.  Our “heart and mind” is a creature of habit, and will run and re-run over the same “tracks” and thoughts until grooves the size of the Grand Canyon are carved out—and if that particular track is a negative conversation, discouragement, envy, or a temptation, we are in trouble.

Instead, there’s a reason that we’re exhorted to purposefully meditate on whatever things are noble, just, pure, virtuous, lovely, and praiseworthy (Phil. 4:8).  If our bodies are what we eat, our hearts and minds ARE WHAT WE THINK (ABOUT)!

You might also like:  Spiritual Endurance:  Getting “In Shape”

“Search me, O God, and know my heart…”

I noticed something interesting about the armor of God the other day.  Paul tells us:

“Therefore let us not sleep, as others do, but let us watch and be sober…putting on the breastplate of faith and love, and as a helmet, the hope of salvation” (I Thes. 5:6, 8).

A breastplate and a helmet are both protective garments rather than offensive weapons…faith, love, and the hope we have in our salvation are our primary means of guarding our heart and mind.  They are the shields we wield against the fiery darts of the enemy (Eph. 6:16).

Our anchor verse about guarding our heart is, in many ways, the bookend to Jeremiah’s famous statement:

“The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked; who can know it?  I, the Lord, search the heart. I test the mind, even to give every man according to his ways, according to the fruit of his doings” (Jer. 17:9-10).

God tells us through Jeremiah that every single one of our carnal human hearts is desperately sick, beyond cure.  We can’t understand and truly see our own hearts—only God is able to do that.  And that means that only by His grace and through repentance and developing a relationship with Him, are we able to also see ourselves more clearly and guard and keep our hearts.

A good starting place is to pray through Psalm 139.  In this psalm, David acknowledges how deeply God knows him, how He comprehends his thoughts and actions, pours out blessings on him, and how God has directed His life from the second he was conceived.  He wraps up the psalm beseeching the Father:

“Search me, O God, and know my heart; try me, and know my anxieties, and see if there is any wicked way in me [NLT: ‘point out anything in me that offends You’].  Lead me in the way everlasting” (Ps. 139:23-24).

We must examine ourselves, be aware, be HONEST with ourselves.  And we have to stay close to God in His word, in prayer and meditating on what we read in the bible.  Guarding our hearts should be an active, constant state in our daily lives.

Based on what we’ve learned in this study, here is perhaps how we could paraphrase Proverbs 4:23 as a meditation:

Above all else, carefully protect and preserve your innermost being.  Vigilantly keep watch over your thoughts and actions, asking God to test your heart and mind, and to show you where hidden spiritual vulnerabilities may be shaping your character and keeping you from truly following His way.  This is one of the most important responsibilities you have, because the state of your heart directs your steps, and determines the course of your life.

Related Posts