keeper of the spring

so, today i want to share on guarding our hearts. our hearts are the wellsprings of our lives and from it come our thoughts, words and actions. i've been trying to guard my heart for a while now and the outcome compared to how i used to leave my heart unchecked is remarkable. before i intentionally started guarding my heart, i would watch certain movies/ tv series, read secular non-edifying books and listen to songs that didn't glorify God and didn't edify me either. i sometimes allowed certain friends who should remain simple friends become too close. simply put, i left my heart unguarded, no boundaries.

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with time, i began to filter everything and anything that came to me with the Word of God. if this friendship continues what fruit will it bear? if i watch/read/listen to this what implications and fruits are going to result? are they good fruits or bad fruits. i began to ask myself. i had to let go of some dead weight and people/things that were obviously going to have negative influence on me rather than me having an impacting influence on them. 

i had to evaluate the people i constantly surrounded myself with and ask, how much of influence do these people have on me? does that influence bear good fruits? - the fruits of the Spirit [love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, gentleness and self-control. galatians 5;22-23] do i desire to be godly when i consistently hang with this or that person? my interactions with certain people had to greatly reduce and some things simply had to go! this doesn't mean i lock up my heart, throw the key somewhere and not be able to even feel or be empathetic, no. i simply allow God's sure and true Word be what i use to filter/check what does come into my heart. if the thing isn't making me grow into the stature of Christ, i let it go.

here are some words and a story from joshua harris' book i kissed dating goodbye, illustrating how important it is to keep watch over what comes to our hearts.

the Bible is replete with warnings about the nature of the human heart and with instructions to make our top priority watching over it. proverbs 4:23 tells us, "above all else, guard your heart..." how should we do this?

first, picture guarding your heart as if your heart were a criminal tied in a chair who would like to break free and knock you over the head. in other words, protect yourself from your heart's sinfulness. keep a wary eye on your heart, knowing that it can do you damage if it is not carefully watched.

"the heart is deceitful above all things...' we read in jeremiah 17:9. "who can know it?" though the advice of many well-meaning people today is to "follow your heart," the Bible warns that your heart can lead you in wrong, even deadly, directions. our hearts lie. something can "feel" right and be completely wrong. 

in his book 'first things first', stephen covey uses an analogy that can help us understand the knack our emotions have for bending reality. if you take a flashlight and shine it on a sundial at night, you can make the sundial tell any time you want. but while this method gives you a time, that time won't be accurate. why? because you've manipulated the source of light.

in the same way, our emotions can "shed light" on our circumstances from any number of angles. they can tell us whatever we want to hear. but we can't place all our trust in these heart readings.

...next, picture guarding your heart as if it were a fresh spring of water that you want to drink  from daily.

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an elderly , quiet forest dweller once lived high above an austrian village along the eastern slopes of the alps. many years ago, the town council had hired this old gentleman as Keeper of the Spring to maintain the purity of the pools of water in the mountain crevices. the overflow from these pools ran down the mountainside and fed the lovely spring which flowed through the town. with faithful, silent regularity, the keeper of the spring patrolled the hills, removed the leaves and branches from the pools, and wiped away the silt that would otherwise choke and contaminate the fresh flow of water. by and by, the village became a popular attraction for vacationers. graceful swans floated along the crystal-clear spring, the mill wheels of various businesses located near the water turned day and night, farmlands were naturally irrigated, and the view from restaurants sparkled.

years passed. one evening the town council met for its semiannual meeting. as the council members reviewed the budget, one man's eye caught the salary paid the obscure keeper of the spring. "who is this old man?" he asked indignantly. "why do we keep paying him year after year? no one ever sees him. for all we know, this man does us no good. he isn't necessary  any longer!" by a unanimous vote, the council dispensed with the old man's services.

for several weeks nothing changed. but by early autumn, the tress began to shed their leaves. small branches snapped off and fell into the pools, hindering the rushing flow of sparkling water. one afternoon, someone noticed a slight yellowish-brown tint in the spring. a few days later, the water had darkened even more. within a week, a slimy film covered sections of the water along the banks, and a foul odor emanated from the spring. the mill wheels moved slowly, some finally ground to a halt. businesses located near the water closed. the swans migrated to fresher waters far away, and tourists no longer visited the town. eventually, the clammy fingers of disease and sickness reached deeply into the village.

***

the shortsighted town council enjoyed the beauty of the spring but underestimated the importance of guarding its source. we can make the same mistake in our lives. like the keeper of the spring who maintained the purity of the water, you and i are the keepers of our hearts. we need to consistently evaluate the purity of our hearts in prayer, asking God to reveal the little things that contaminate us. as God reveals our wrong attitudes, longings, and desires, we must remove them from our hearts.

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here's a song that speaks to me a lot on this matter.

slow fade- casting crowns

people never crumble in a day. it's a slow fade.

which people do you consistently surround yourself with? do they breathe life and speak truth into your life? what behaviors/activities do you engage in? are they drawing you closer to Christ? the movies/tv shows, books, music you feed your mind, do they feed your Spirit or your carnal pleasures? let's be intentional with guarding our hearts guys. it's important! what consumes your mind, controls your life.

xoxo, gen delali.