Proverbs 4:23 Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life.
Last year during our vacation our family went into the mountains northeast of Los Angeles to Lake Arrowhead. The lake is only at an elevation of 5177 feet but along the highway leading to the lake there are many places where we could look down from the side of the road to the ground hundreds of feet below. The view was spectacular as we looked out over the valleys. One thing we were grateful for were the guard rails along side the highway. If there should be a mishap we knew that the guardrails would help prevent an even worse accident.
Solomon wrote to his children (4:1) instructing them to put up guardrails around their heart. The word heart in verse 23 can be translated as inner man, mind, will, or heart. Solomon is saying that we need to guard our thought life, emotions; those things that motivate and mold us. In another place he said what you think is what you are. (Proverbs 23:7) It is essential that we have strong guard rails to keep our thoughts from going off the path of righteousness. Someone once said, “Sow a thought, reap a deed. Sow a deed, reap a habit. Sow a habit, reap a character. Sow a character, reap a destiny.”
By Dr. Gayle Woods