Above all else

Above all else, watch over your heart; diligently guard it because from a sincere and pure heart come the good and noble things of life. Do away with any talk that twists and distorts the truth; have nothing to do with any verbal trickery. Keep your head up, your eyes straight ahead, and your focus fixed on what is in front of you. Take care you don’t stray from the straight path, the way of truth, and you will safely reach the end of your road. Do not veer off course to the right or the left; step away from evil, and leave it behind. (Proverbs 4:23-27 VOICE)

Above all else - these instructions aren't to be taken lightly - we are to pay close attention to them, guarding our hearts so that they stay on course. The pure, good, and noble things of life don't come naturally when one is born with a sin nature - there must be an exchange of nature in order for these things to become the 'norm'. Let's take a closer look at the instructions we are given in this passage:

- Watch over your heart. The mind, will, and emotions play against each other, don't they? Our mind wants to follow hard after obedience, but our will gets waylaid by our emotions. Before long, what we set out to do isn't what we end up doing. We need a watchman over our heart! Thank God, we have the Holy Spirit to help keep watch because we don't do the best job with this one on our own!

- Do away with untruth. Perhaps one of the oldest and most effective weapons the enemy of our soul uses is trickery through things that aren't 'quite true'. There is some element of truth within his lies, but at the core of his work is deception. Truth distorted is no longer truth. We must become so familiar with truth that we easily recognize when any untruth comes our way.

- Keep your eyes straight ahead. A fixed focus is what determines our course, isn't it? When we are learning to hit a baseball, the coach tells us to keep our eyes on the ball. Why? It is easier to connect with what remains in our focus! The pilot will tell you to focus on your instruments - what is right in front of you. Why? They help you make decisions that are based on facts, not conjecture. The more we maintain our focus on Christ, the better our course will be.

- Don't stray from the straight path. Truth will guide us, the Holy Spirit will instruct us, and our focus will help us stay on track. Yet, there is this ever-present desire to see what is just a little bit to the right or left of our course! Our flesh battles with our spirit - don't let it win! The things we think we are missing out on are really not all that rewarding - regardless of what our enemy tells us!

- Step away from evil and leave it behind. Perhaps the hardest thing we are called to do is lay down what promises us 'satisfaction', but what really delivers nothing more than hurt, disappointment, and despair. Stepping away suggests an active participation in determining to leave and cleave. Leave the old, cleave to the new. Jesus isn't going to drag us from the pit, but he will provide a means by which we can step away from it! Just sayin!