Key Verse: Verse 23 - “Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life."
Key Words: Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life
In Proverbs 4:23 we are told to “Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life.” The word heart is used often throughout the Word of God.
In Jeremiah 17:9, we are told that the heart is deceitful.
In John 14, we are told to “Let not your heart be troubled.”
In Deuteronomy 6:5, we see that we are to love the Lord with all of our heart.
In Romans 10:9-10, we see the heart is vital to salvation, “That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.”
So what is the heart? Solomon tells us what the heart is when he says, “for out of it are the issues of life.” The heart is that which produces our actions. You can actually know the heart of a person by their actions. Now that is a scary thought that people can know my heart by what I do. Solomon goes on in Proverbs 4:24-27 to give us three ways to identify our heart.
First of all, you can know a person’s heart by what they say. Verse 24, “Put away from thee a froward mouth, and perverse lips put far from thee.” If my words are froward (crooked, dishonest) or perverse (misleading), then my heart is dishonest and misleading. If I gossip, lie, murmur, complain, backbite, it is because my heart is filled with gossip, lies, murmuring, complaints, and backbiting. On the other hand, if my words are pure and clean, that reveals a pure and clean heart. So as you listen to people talk, you can know their heart. Matthew 12:34, “for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh.”
Secondly, you can know a person’s heart by what they look at or watch. Verse 25, “Let thine eyes look right on, and let thine eyelids look straight before thee.” A heart that is out of control looks at things that he or she should not. There is no reason to explain here, this is pretty clear.
Thirdly, you can know a person’s heart by where they go. Verses 26-27, “Ponder the path of thy feet, and let all thy ways be established. Turn not to the right hand nor to the
left: remove thy foot from evil.” Do I go to the house of God or the ballfield? Do I go soul-winning or to fulfill my hobby? Do I go to movies which I should not be seeing? Oh well, you get the idea.
So based on these three things: my words–what I say, my eyes–what I see, and my feet–where I go; I can tell what the spiritual condition of my heart is.
What to do:
✞ Remember, you can know your child’s heart by what they say, by what they want to watch or see, and by where they want to go.
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