Keep your heart with all diligence, for out of it spring the issues of life. Put away from you a deceitful mouth and put perverse lips far from you.
Proverbs 4:23-24
Failure to take seriously the advice and admonition of this verse leads to several diagnoses – heartache, heartbreak, hard-heartedness, faintheartedness, and the like. The challenges faced by today’s believers make it more urgent than ever to diligently “keep our heart” to avoid the injuries listed above. In the same way that an improper diet can undermine cardiac health, so to an ill-advised diet of sweet platitudes and spicy commentary erodes the very heart that God promises to protect. David strayed far from God’s plan when he sinned with Uriah and Bathsheba. He acknowledged his foul and polluted heart from which this sin and vice thrived.
Create in me a clean heart O God and renew a right spirit within me.
Psalm 51:10
The verb “keep” in the phrase “keep your heat” is an interesting one. Common uses of “keep” include “keep your word,” “keepsakes,” “keep the law,” or “keep your friends close and your enemies closer.” Each is related and nonetheless has its own nuance and focus. The Hebrew word translated as “keep” in this passage is “natsar,” which is otherwise translated as guard, monument, or watchman. Consider its use in the following verse:
For there shall be a day when the watchmen (natsar) will cry on Mount Ephraim, ‘Arise, and let us go up to Zion, to the Lord our God.’
Jeremiah 31:6
Keeping our hearts with all diligence is akin to the watchman on the wall sounding the alarm. Never let down our guard. The castle keep “refers to large towers in castles … used as a refuge of last resort should the rest of the castle fall to an adversary.” (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Keep) This is the sort of preparation and protection that the diligent and prudent apply to the heart.
Paul suggests in Ephesians 6 that the breastplate of righteousness protects the heart. Aside from the physical protection, a breastplate affords the heart and other vital organs, the doctrine of righteousness through faith and not of works protects our hearts from pride or fear. Where one might swell with pride at being better than most, another might cower in fear at wondering what level of demanding work is sufficient to please and appease God.
Enough for an introduction to what I plan. This article is the first of several throughout 2025 to provide practical ideas on how to guard our hearts. I hope you find one or more that you can apply in your daily walk with Jesus. This month, we consider the first verses of Psalm 1.
Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor stands in the path of sinners, nor sits in the seat of the scornful; but his delight is in the law of the Lord, and in His law he meditates day and night.
Psalm 1:1-2
In unambiguous language, the Psalmist warns about following advice or example from sinful or scornful sources. Famous ministries come into disrepute with the exposure of sin among their leadership. Their failings discredit their ministries and even disqualify themselves. This is the obvious bright red flag that warns of a toxic product or perspective. I draw your attention to the second caution – to avoid the scornful – which is a much more insidious and camouflaged failing. Many celebrate the clever wit or piercing “gotcha” of the scornful and sneering provocateur. The Psalmist warns us not to be so cavalier. Do not walk with the advice of the ungodly. Paul, in his letter to the church in Ephesus (chapters 4 and 5), teaches his readers to walk worthy, differently, in love, in light, and circumspectly. Paul tells the church at Corinth that bad company corrupts good morals. I think this is obvious, and it is the third warning - don’t rest or recline or be at ease with the scornful, the sarcastic, the sardonic. The critical thinker pays attention to this tone to discover an underlying agenda or attitude.
In closing, consider the following seven characteristics of Godly or Heavenly wisdom:
But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality and without hypocrisy.
James 3:17
Find the pundit, podcaster, preacher, or professor that illustrates these characteristics. As we avoid the scornful and embrace such wisdom, we take a big step in building the keep for our heart – Keep our hearts with all diligence.
The author invites your comments at chrisc@khouse.org.
