Your Heart Is The Compass Of Your Life!

Proverbs 4:23 says, “Guard your heart above all else, for it determines the course of your life.” (NLT) What powerful wisdom found in this Scripture, wisdom that can and will shield you from a lot of hurts in life. Someone said this, “Who we are on the inside creates much of our outside life.”  Herclitus, and ancient philosopher said, “A man’s character is his destiny.” Sher-n-I have seen so many relationships destroyed because people have neglected or refused to guard their hearts. “In scripture we find our heart is where we Dream, Deliberate, Decide, Want & Will. It is Control Central! No one invades it unless we give permission! It is the core of who & what we are. It is the Real, Authentic You! After all the layers of external camouflage have been removed, your heart is the naked reality of what you really are.”  

What happens when you do not “GUARD” (Watch over, Preserve from Danger, Guard with Faithfulness, Keep Blockaded):

1. You reach a place of strength (you’re walled in – isolationism) “I right – everyone else – not right!”
2. No one can talk to you – “It’s just me and God baby!”
3. Can’t speak into your life; You become unteachable. 
4. You Become self-willed.
5. You do not speak in Spirit and in Truth.
6. Honesty and Character diminishes.
7. And stubbornness enters in.
8. Then decay sets in! – Relationships fall apart!

Listen to this statement, “In the same way that it’s possible to get food poisoning from rancid food, it is also possible to get heart, mind, soul, and strength poisoning from toxic people.”  All through the Bible there is an awesome lesson that is taught, be careful whom you trust. Misplaced trust can open some very sorrowful doors. It all boils down to – and once again we say – TRUST! Trust has two doors, Door #1 - Talk; Door #2 - Behavior. Let Sher-n-I give you an example of these two doors in action: “Pals for 12 years, these two guys (Bob and Sam) saw each others highs and lows in life and both were always there for each other. To say they shared their hearts, minds, thoughts and dreams would be an understatement – they were  very close.  Through a series of life and business events, a strain was put on the relationship – and Sam felt let down by Bob. After a long talk, and a series of  repentance and forgiveness – the two buddies were back on happy ground again! Problem Solved? Not so fast! You see, Sam was a little less than honest during the time of repentance and forgiveness. He let Bob think everything was now OK. Bob asked Sam several times, “Sam, are you sure we are OK – all is forgiven?” “Yes Bob, I love you man – we are best buds!”  So, Bob walks away from the meeting feeling everything was OK, only to find out weeks later, things were not OK. To make matters worse, Bob felt something wasn’t right with Sam – but THEN he found out Sam was still upset with him through a third person! (Charlie’s Comment: So much for Matthew 18, TRUTH, HONESTY, CHARACTER AND INTEGRITY!)  WOW! Sam said he forgave Bob (he released Bob, never to bring it up again) – but that wasn’t the case at all. What a mess! The friendship is in disrepair and it may never be restored because of the lack of trust in Bob’s heart towards Sam.

See, Bob thought the friendship he had with Sam was this: “Friendship, trust someone you have known long enough to see that they are honest, loyal, spiritual, responsible, kind, forgiving, trustworthy, and posses other qualities that ensure good treatment.”  Now Bob feels the friendship wasn’t what he thought it to be. Door #1 Talk, was not honest  on Sam’s part – the old adage, “Talk Is Cheap” applies here. You see, sometimes to avoid the painful truth, some people find it easier to tell you anything to avoid the tough conversation, the conversation laced with Spirit and Truth. Sam did not guard his heart and skirted the truth with Bob. The result – a very broken relationship.

Well Charlie-n-Sher, “How Can I Know To Trust Someone?” – you may ask. Well, the Bible points many times to this, let us paraphrase it, “trust a person’s character, as evidenced by their behavior.”  OUCH! Hand out the band-aids? “Do not believe what people say, believe what they do. We can depend only on what people do, not what they say they will do or what we wish they would do.”  - Dr. Henry Cloud  As Jesus put it, “A good tree produces good fruit, and a bad tree produces bad fruit… Just as you can identify a tree by it’s fruit, so you can identify people by their actions.”  So, just do not listen to what is being said in any relationship, the secret to trust is to watch their behavior. Guard your heart, set boundaries in your life, and guard them too! We need to embrace this fact, “Maturity doesn’t come with age, it comes with the acceptance of responsibility.”  Take responsibility for your short-comings and own your mistakes and let honesty begin in your own heart! “Honesty doesn’t come out of nowhere. It is a product of your of your moral convictions.”  “Unless you are faithful in small matters, you won’t be faithful in large ones. If you cheat even a little, you won’t be honest with greater responsibilities. Luke 16:10 

Our opinion, integrity is known by your loyalty: Being loyal to a person when they are not there – TRUSTED! Don’t fall prey to a Sam and Bob situation – sadly – a situation that exist far to often! Guard your heats and follow this prescription: “A friend loves at all times.”  Proverbs 17:17   Oh, and try this: make sure your “WORDS” match your “BEHAVIOR” – it will cement all your relationships in life!

Until next time, May God Richly Bless You!     Charlie-n-Sher