Do not let them out of your sight, keep them within your heart;
for they are life to those who find them and health to a man's whole body...
Spending part of my time in childcare, as a preschool teacher I would be responsible for making sure the little kiddies didn't hurt themselves or each other. But there was always this one little boy... (let's call him Max) sweet as the day is long, but he couldn't listen to save his life-quite literally. If I had something important or lifechanging to say such as "Do not stand up when you go down the slide" or "Sit down on the swings, do not try to jump off" I had to get his attention.
I would have to squat down to his eyelevel, make sure we had eye contact and then before I would give my instruction I would precursor it with "Max, listen to my words." After I had his undivided attention, I knew I could tell him what
needed to be done and it would happen. Sometimes with God, I'm Max. He has to
take me by the hand, look into my eyes, lovingly lip the word "focussss" and
then say "Jada, listen to My words." We get so busy with life and we sometimes
read the Bible out of duty or obligation. We read so we can say we did. We read,
sometimes honestly hoping we'll find the answer to our plight. But Solomon knew
that we would just skip over stuff and become lackadaisical, zoning out and
speedreading for 10 minutes. So he reaches out to us, attempts focus and says
"My son, pay attention to what I say; listen closely to my words." He's saying "STOP STANDING ON THE SWING." He's saying "STOP DOING WHAT YOU'RE DOING AND JUST LEARN THIS. IF YOU LEARN THIS IT'LL SAVE YOUR LIFE!" After getting Max's attention, I didn't waste any of that precious time and I broke things down to his four year old level. I wanted to say "Max, seriously, stop being an idiot you're going to fall down, get trampled by the other kids and die." But what I said (in a loving tone) was "Max, sweetheart. Kindergarteners and other big kids wouldn't do that. You are a big kid, right?" (Intense nods.) "And you want to make it to kindergarten without getting a broken arm from falling from a swing, right?" (blank stare--a child's thinking face) "Don't stand up on the swing any more. Sit on your bottom or you'll have to come sit with me."I basically said "Above not pushing girls or peeing in the bushes, above picking
your nose or even trying to throw dirt at people-DO NOT stand up in that swing."Solomon in his God-given wisdom knew he'd have to speak the same way to us. "Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life." Another translation says "for it affects everything you do." He is basically saying that everything he has said is important but the most important is to guard your heart. But just like I told Max not to stand on the swing, I also told him what to do...sit on his bottom. I'm not telling you to be lazy. What I'm saying is, Solomon also tells us how to guard our hearts.
"Put away perversity from your mouth;keep corrupt talk far from your
lips.
Let your eyes look straight ahead, fix your gaze directly
before you.
Make level paths for your feet and take only ways that
are firm.
Do not swerve to the right or the left; keep your foot
from evil." Solomon gives each instruction twice so that we'll get the hint. It's like "Don't stand up, sit down in the swing." He says "Put away perversity from your mouth; keep corrupt talk far from your lips." Luke 6:45 tells us that we speak from what is in our hearts. If we put ugly and unfruitful things from our mouths, our hearts will follow suit.
We need to also guard our
eyes.He says "Let your eyes look straight ahead, fix your gaze directly before you." You need to stay focused on Jesus when you're trying to guard your heart. You need to look straight ahead, having tunnel vision. When horses or mules plow, they have blinders put on them. Blinders only let the animal see straight ahead so that they can focus on the field that is needing to be tilled up. They are ineffective when they can see the whole field.
They get discouraged and don't want to finish or they get distracted and want to
divert their energy.Then he says "Make level paths for your feet and take only ways that are firm." So your lips, your eyes and the placement of your feet all lead directly to your heart. Wherever you allow your feet to roam is where you take your heart. If you get lost in the woods, its not only because you spoke a plan to enter the woods or even that you looked at the woods...your feet misled you. When you guard your heart, you make sure that every step is firm-not in quicksand- and you make sure that you don't step in gopher holes. You don't want to get tripped up on small things or things that shouldn't concern you. If you are on level and firm ground, you can allow your eyes to look straight
ahead so you can see where you're going.Surprisingly, Solomon shows us another phrase. "Do not swerve to the right or the left; keep your foot from evil." Keeping your mouth pure, keeping your eyes straight and on level ground and making sure you don't swerve one way or the other, but keep pressing straight ahead will keep your heart guarded. Don't speak too much. Only talk when you have something to say that isn't too personal unless you're talking to Jeus, are with friends of the same sex or a trusted mentor. Stay focused on Jesus. "Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith..." (Hebrews 12:2) When you keep your eyes on Jesus, you don't get distracted by other things. Relationships, past failures, future hopes...all of those things can lead you in the wrong direction. When you look at them, you walk towards them.Make level paths for your feet. Your "thoughtfeet" are very important. "We take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ." ( 2 Corinthians 10:5) You must choose to guide your thoughts. Keep your feet from wandering in the wrong direction. Doing all of these things and being sure to not swerve from them will keep you from evil-from anything apart from God and His plans for your life. "Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, 'This is the way; walk in it.'" (Isaiah 30:21)God doesn't want you to mess up any more than I wanted Max to crack his head open. I only made the punishment of sitting out so that doing something that would hurt him wouldn't look so good. It's not about God being a funsucker. It's about all of the life He has to offer you. But you can't fly on the wind among the tree leaves if you're constantly face planting and eating mulch.
No comments:
Post a Comment