GUARD OUR HEARTS
Proverbs 4:23
Keep your heart with all diligence,
For out of it spring the issues of life.
Back in 2014 a very well known professional bowhunter was accused of claiming to shoot a enormous whitetail buck, and everyone in the whitetail world cheered him on over it... until someone brought up a photo of a set of antlers that had been sold by an antler collector a few years earlier. Suddenly, every big buck this hunter had even taken and showed off came into question. Within days, this once idolized hunting hero disappeared from the scene and really hasn't resurfaced since.
This hunter came on the scene as just a hometown deer hunter. It's thought that he began getting paid more and more and began getting more and more attention. Often when money and fame come into play, the morality and truth take a backseat.
We've seen the same things happen to men and women in ministry when fame and money grow in their lives. Often motives to bring glory and honor to God through our lives can easily go bad when our flesh starts to desire glory and honor for ourselves instead of for the One that gives us everything. And when this starts to happen, our God given purpose on the earth is corroded, those that we have cared for within God's family are no longer properly cared for, and those that we have poured into to share the love of God are ignored.
We must continually keep watch over our heart's agenda. The Scripture above, Proverbs 4:23 says "we must keep our hearts with all diligence, as from here spring the issues of life." Jesus came to seek and save the lost, but the pharisees of His time had become hardhearted and prideful. The influence and power they received had made then lose their heart for truth and the glory didn't point to God, but turned toward themselves.
As we search our own hearts, we need to ask ourselves a couple questions.
• Do the things we do bring glory to God or do they bring glory to us?
• Do we have a desire to see sinners come to know Jesus, or are we indifferent and empathetic toward those who have not yet met our Savior?
We need to guard our hearts.
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