Proverbs describes the importance of living wisely and in the fear of the Lord as opposed to following the seductive path of folly.
Proverbs 4:23 New Living Translation
23
Guard your heart above all else,
for it determines the course of your life.
Proverbs 4:23 Good News Translation
23 Be careful how you think; your life is shaped by your thoughts.
Proverbs 4:23 English Standard Version
23
Keep your heart with all vigilance,
for from it flow the springs of life.
Proverbs 4:23-27 The Message
23-27
Keep vigilant watch over your heart;
that’s where life starts.
Don’t talk out of both sides of your mouth;
avoid careless banter, white lies, and gossip.
Keep your eyes straight ahead;
ignore all sideshow distractions.
Watch your step,
and the road will stretch out smooth before you.
Look neither right nor left;
leave evil in the dust.
“Your heart is the most important leadership tool you have. It is not your experience, knowledge, or skills. It is your heart that matters most of all” – Michael Hyatt
Guard your heart above all else,
for it determines the course of your life. Keep your heart with all vigilance,
for from it flow the springs of life.
Be careful how you think; your life is shaped by your thoughts. All that you do within life comes from your inner soul aka your heart, being, brain and personal spiritual walk. Your heart is your second brain it’s your inner intuition. Your heart guards your desire and decisions in life together with your brain and the laws God has laid within you when he created you. We can not live with our eyes wide open without living with our heart and all these other senses and our databases of our brain with Christ’s teachings. If you have one but not the other you’d just sit in unfamiliar lands of questionable undecided paths you wouldn’t know where to begin or what route to travel to get to a destination. All parts of your being and spiritual faith walk all work simultaneously together starting with your inner soul, spirit and heart if you don’t guard it keeping it safe you will find yourself in heaps of turmoil, trouble, confusion and burdens most likely in negative intentions.
“It is not your experience, knowledge, or skills. Your heart is your most important leadership tool.”
Michael Hyatt
“King Solomon said it best: “Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life” (Proverbs 4:23).
“This is necessary for at least three reasons:
1. Because your heart is extremely valuable.
We don’t guard worthless things. Why? Because we don’t keep things that are worthless because it is worthless. Not so with your heart. It is the essence of who you are. It is your authentic self—the core of your being. It is where all your dreams, your desires, and your passions live. It is that part of you that connects with God and other people.
Just like your physical body, if your heart—your spiritual heart—dies, your leadership dies. This is why Solomon says, “Above all else.” He doesn’t say, “If you get around to it” or “It would be nice if.” No, he says, make it your top priority.
2. Because your heart is the source of everything you do.
King Solomon says it is the “wellspring of life.” In other words, it is the source of everything else in your life. Your heart overflows into thoughts, words, and actions.
If you plug up the spring, you stop the flow of water. If you poison the water, the flow becomes toxic. In either situation, you threaten life downstream. Everything depends on the condition of the spring.
Likewise, if your heart is unhealthy, it has an impact on everything else. It threatens your family, your friends, your ministry, your career, and, indeed, your legacy. It is, therefore, imperative that you guard it.
3. Because your heart is under constant attack.
When Solomon says to guard your heart, he implies that you are living in a combat zone—one in which there are casualties.
Many of us are oblivious to the reality of this war. We have an enemy who is bent on our destruction. He not only opposes God, but he opposes everything that is aligned with Him—including us.
The Enemy uses all kinds of weapons to attack our heart. For me, these attacks often come in the form of some circumstance that leads to disappointment, discouragement, or even disillusionment. In these situations, I am tempted to quit—to walk off the field and surrender.
If your heart is unhealthy, it threatens everything else—family, friends, career—everything!
Michael Hyatt
This is why if you and I are going to succeed as leaders—and survive as individuals—we must guard our hearts. They are more important than we can possibly imagine. If we lose heart, we have lost everything.”
Your heart is not only an organ or your inner soul, spiritual being, it is an instrument of work a tool to help lead and guide ourselves and others as well as our relationship with Christ if we don’t follow and guard it we don’t follow the story or path God lay upon our lives in our mother’s womb we loose the path to our final and eternal destiny and desire. By not guarding it is compelled to take serious consequences and most likely death or failure maybe both it will definitely cause death of our mental and spiritual states. Our heart is our most important asset.
Living Water Ministries 