Proverbs 4:23
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Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life.
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You can keep your heart good, or you can let it become bad. You can be diligent in this project, or you can be lazy. As a child of God, your old man tempts you toward evil, and your new man exhorts you toward righteousness. Your heart chooses between them. It is a series of choices that every person makes each day. What are you going to do this day?
Whatever is in your heart comes out in your life. If your heart is full of good things, your life will show that goodness; if your heart is full of sinful thoughts, your life will show them. The large tests and decisions you will face in life are dependent on your heart, and so are the small choices that we make hundreds of times a day.
Have you kept it pure? Are you working hard to keep it pure today? Do you know that laziness in this matter will bring severe trouble and pain to your life?
Our Lord Jesus condemned the Pharisees for emphasizing man's outward appearance; and He emphasized man's heart instead. He said the following in two different places:
O generation of vipers, how can ye, being evil, speak good things? for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh. A good man out of the good treasure of the heart bringeth forth good things: and an evil man out of the evil treasure bringeth forth evil things.
Matthew 12:34-35
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: These are the things which defile a man: but to eat with unwashen hands defileth not a man.
Matthew 15:18-19
Sin begins in the heart. Lust for a sin attracts your heart, so you think about it. If you think about it enough, you will do it. And the result of this choice is death. You can protect yourself by keeping your heart diligently from sinful thoughts (James 1:13-16).
How can you keep a pure heart? Protect it from outside influences toward sin (Ps 101:3; I Cor 15:33), and supply it with outside influences toward holiness (Ps 119:11,63; 101:6).
Since even thinking of foolishness is sin (24:9) and desiring another woman is adultery (Matt 5:28), we must often examine our hearts with the Lord's help (Ps 139:23-24).
Because the Lord Jesus sees your heart clearly (Heb 4:12), your diligence will be rewarded (II Chron 16:9) and your laziness will be punished (Ezek 14:3-8).
David, the almost-forgotten eighth son of Jesse, was chosen over all his older and successful brothers to be king of Israel, because he had a pure heart like the Lord's. What a glorious goal!
Dear reader, is this your holy ambition today?
Your heart is your most valuable asset. And we are not talking about the muscle beating 70 times a minute in your chest. We are talking about the inner, decision-making part of you that loves certain things and chooses to do them over other things.
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