Christian Heart Management

 

 

 

"Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it." (Proverbs 4:23)

 

 

There is still an incident I cannot forget. The mother of a brother I knew was running a store when an African American robber came in, stole money, and ran away. The brother’s mother chased after him, but she was shot and died. The amount of money the robber took from the store was $100. It was an unbelievable event. Of course, I don’t think she ran after the robber just to protect $100. It was likely a spontaneous reaction. But still, a precious life was lost for only $100.

It seems that so many people pour all their energy, heart, and devotion into protecting their money. In this materialistic world, people seem to go to great lengths to protect their wealth. What is even more terrifying is that, in the process of protecting their money, they abandon their hearts. In a world where people are willing to forsake their consciences to protect their money, how are we Christians living? Are we any different from others? Have we become so obsessed with money that we work tirelessly for it, boasting in front of others in church, trying to control God's church with money? Why are we neglecting our hearts? Why aren’t we dedicating ourselves to guarding our hearts more than our money? Our hearts are becoming defiled. What is even more frightening is that, as our hearts become corrupted, our faith in the blood of Jesus on the cross is growing faint. It seems we are living, showing a form of godliness, while our hearts are being defiled by the law, not faith. A heart full of doubts, this kind of heart tests God (Acts 15:10). It questions the plan of salvation that God has established through grace (Park Yunseon). In short, this heart is a heart that does not know "the grace of our Lord Jesus" (v. 11).

Today, God is giving us the word of life. More than anything else, we must guard our hearts. The reason is that "from it flows the springs of life" (Proverbs 4:23). We must not take this fundamental lesson lightly. We must not ignore the source of life and waste time focusing on other things. So, how should we specifically guard our hearts? We must guard them with faith. As it says in Acts 15:9, we must commit ourselves to cleansing our hearts with faith. In the midst of Satan’s schemes and many temptations that defile our hearts, we must prioritize guarding our hearts and strive to keep them clean. It may be hard, painful, lonely, or we may even feel exhausted and fall, but we must guard our hearts with all our strength. To do this, we must claim, by faith, only the righteousness of Christ. We must regard our own righteousness as dung. The only thing we can boast about is the truth that "all I have done is sin" and our weakness. We must cling to the truth that we have been saved only by the righteousness of our Lord Jesus Christ with all our heart, mind, and soul. Furthermore, in our life of faith, we must be sanctified by the work of the Holy Spirit, and live out a holy life.

"Create in me a pure heart, O God!" (Psalm 51:10)