Growing in maturity and wisdom allows you to learn how to guard your heart while at the same time keeping it open so that pure and right relationships are able to flow throughout your life. Negative and selfish relationships are able to be spotted early and by obtaining wisdom, knowledge, and understanding, you are able to know how to deal with these types of relationships. Wisdom, knowledge, and understanding will also allow you to know when to let these types of relationships go. When you are not wise on how to guard your heart while also giving and receiving love, while at the same time not knowing when to exercise boundaries, your life will be filled with unnecessary chaos, confusion, disorder, and frustration. It truly is a balancing act when you began to both guard your heart and yet keep it open so that you are not suppressing unforgiveness, bitterness, or hiding love from others.

“Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life” (Proverbs 4:23).

“Guarding your heart” is not limited to guarding your heart when it comes to spousal relationships, but all other relationships with family, friends, peers, co-workers, acquaintances, and strangers. Guarding your heart extends to all areas of your life and also means to manage your emotions, thoughts, and feelings towards the circumstances in your life. It means to know when to “be angry but do not sin and don’t go to bed raged and bitter” (Ephesians 4:26); it means to not discipline your children for wrong/selfish/angry reasons, but discipline them in love; it means to strive to still honor and love your parents, regardless of neglect and abandonment; it means to know when to continue helping people, or know when to leave them in God’s hands. Without wisdom, one may think that to guard their heart, they must walk around with their hearts chained and securely locked, not letting anyone “in;” treating everyone the same or not giving others the benefit of doubt, due to mishaps, misunderstandings, and wrongdoing from others. These are improper ways of guarding your heart and will cause a great deal of sorrow and bitterness. We must learn to guard our hearts with wisdom, but not allow ourselves to be hindered by not living a life of love, faith, giving, and unity just because we are fearful of showing love and kindness, in fear that we will get hurt “again.” And this is where the balancing act comes in- “being wise as a serpent and harmless as a dove” (St. Matthew 10:16).

We must always give ourselves to praying and specifically speaking on guarding your heart, we must not hesitate to lift our voices and hearts up to the Most High in prayer for guidance and wisdom when we are not sure how to handle certain situations and people. No matter the situation, the Most High will answer your true prayers that are prayed in faith.

The Most High and Our Hearts
The matter of our hearts is a serious issue, for the heart is where our emotions, desires, and will comes from. Our hearts are tablets of memory in which we can remember specific and detailed accounts of our lives-experiences, encounters, relationships, past hurts, and happy memories and thoughts. This is why it is integral to guard your heart.

“Let not mercy and truth forsake thee: bind them about thy neck; write them upon the table of thine heart” (Proverbs 3:3).

“Bind them continually upon thine heart, and tie them about thy neck” (Proverbs 6:21).

Forasmuch as ye are manifestly declared to be the epistle of Christ ministered by us, written not with ink, but with the Spirit of the living God; not in tables of stone, but in fleshy tables of the heart” (2 Corinthians 3:3).

Our hearts are like tape recorders and while most people tend to look on and judge solely on the outward appearance of a man, God looks at the heart and judges our true intentions.

“…For the LORD seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the LORD looketh on the heart”            (1 Samuel 16:7).

“For the LORD searcheth all hearts, and understandeth all the imaginations of the thoughts: if thou seek him, he will be found of thee; but if thou forsake him, he will cast thee off for ever” (1 Chronicles 8:9).

The Heart That Becomes Defiled, Hardened, Bitter, or Unforgiving
“But those things which proceed out of the mouth come forth from the heart; and they defile the man; for out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies” (Mathew 15:18-19).

“A good man out of the good treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is evil: for of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaketh” (Luke 6:45).

“Deceit is in the heart of them that imagine evil: but to the counsellers of peace is joy” (Proverbs 12:20).

“…He became stiff-necked and hardened his heart and would not turn to the LORD, the God of Israel” (2 Chronicles 36:13).

The Heart That Seeks God and a True Life in Virtue and Purity
“Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me” (Psalm 51:10).

“You will seek Me and find me when you seek Me with all your heart” (Jeremiah 29:13).

“A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh” (Ezekiel 36:26).

“I will give them a heart to know Me, that I am the LORD. They will be My people, and I will be their God, for they will return to Me with all their heart” (Jeremiah 24:7).

Let us continue to master the balancing act; guarding our hearts, yet allowing life and love to flow inwards and outwards.

“And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ” (Philippians 4:7).