Let's pick up where we left off yesterday in Proverbs 4:20-23:
My son, pay attention to what I say;
turn your ear to my words.
Do not let them out of your sight,
keep them within your heart;
for they are life to those who find them
and health to one's whole body.
Above all else, guard your heart,
for everything you do flows from it.
The path of wisdom is the formation of our character. We are on this path and we're making these small decisions daily, and through those our character is formed. This is our process of sanctification - that’s the biblical term for our spiritual growth - where we become more like Jesus.
On one hand, we know that our character is supposed to change, but on the other hand, we realize that it's more difficult than just applying our will to say, I'm going to be more like this. For instance, if I were to wake up in the morning and say, “Today, I'm going to be more patient like Jesus.” How do you think that’s going to work out for me? In the short run, I think I'll realize some success. But in the long run, it's exhausting because I’m continually applying my will and just trying to do this thing. That's just tiring.
All of us feel a sense of defeat knowing that we never hit that mark consistently like we need to. We can’t will ourselves into better behavior. It's too hard. Solomon says in Proverbs that it's not about obedience, it's about the heart. Guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life. Your heart is central to who you are. The ancients thought that the heart was not only the physical organ, but also the immaterial part of you, the center of you. It's where your emotional life and your deepest desires resided as well as your imagination and those beliefs that you didn't reason yourself to.
Blaise Pascal wrote: “The heart has its reasons of which reason knows nothing.” Inside of you is this swirl of reason, emotion, desire, belief, and so on. Your heart is not a simple place, but it is the place the holds the core of you. We are all of us in a situation right now that is yielding some kind of reaction - anger, frustration, laziness, etc. And that reaction tells us what is in our hearts.
What connections does this have to wisdom? Whatever the ultimate love is in your heart, that's gonna affect your desires, beliefs, emotions and the choices that you'll make. These choices over a period of time will form your character. For instance, if a person has built their life around their kids - their happiness, their success - then it's going to impact every other decision that they make. Maybe the person over-disciplines because they fear that the kids behavior will reflect poorly on them. Maybe they under-discipline because what they really want is for their kids to be their best friend and love them. I think we can see that neither of these is not going to go well in the long term. These choices are going to form character and it's going to move down the path of foolishness.
Here's my question for you today;
What is it that really drives you? What is the love of your heart that you find many of your decisions based on? Can you use this time of isolation to accurately self-reflect and ask God for an honest appraisal of yourself.
Prayer for Today
Father, our hearts are incredibly complex. We find ourselves making decisions that we know aren't helpful. Lord, help us to do an honest self-reflection on what the loves of our life are. Thank you that whatever we discover with you, it's because we're under the banner of the gospel that we're safe and we can come out of hiding. It's okay that your love is still shed on us abundantly. Thank you again for this. In Jesus name. Amen.
