Seeking the whole truth

"Guard your heart" is a term I have heard for as long as I can remember, and since coming to college it's become one of the christian things you hear almost everyday.

When we are told to guard are hearts, it's mostly referring to a guy. 
We take it from Proverbs 4:23 "Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it."
The more I heard the term, the more I became curious on what exactly it meant. Not only what it means, but how to actually do it.

"Sure, guard my heart, got it."
But what does that look like really?


Personally I think this is a verse that we are belittling. I say that because the only time I have ever really heard this verse used is when it is followed by relationship advice.
We aren't necessarily taking the verse out of context but we are taking it out and applying it to a certain area of our life and calling it a day. That is still a dangerous zone to play in.

Don't get me wrong, we do need to guard our hearts when it comes to the opposite sex but when we leave it to just that we are missing the point.

This verse isn't telling us to guard our hearts from the opposite sex, this verse is telling us to guard are hearts from our own thoughts.

What we spend our time meditating on runs our lives, whether you believe it or not.
 That is what the warning is here.

"for everything you do flows from it." 

What is in your heart?
guilt? pride? lust? the list can go on and on
what we think about, what we allow in our hearts, then flows into how we live our lives.

This is why we are told to guard our hearts, not just from boys, but from real evil that is lurking in the shadows.

For me, I read this and I think okay okay, I see but i'm still left with HOW. Luckily, this isn't where the verse stops.

"Keep your mouth free of perversity;
    keep corrupt talk far from your lips.
25 Let your eyes look straight ahead;
    fix your gaze directly before you.
26 Give careful thought to the paths for your feet
    and be steadfast in all your ways.
27 Do not turn to the right or the left;
    keep your foot from evil."

To guard our hearts, we must turn from things of this world. 

When we read the rest of chapter 4 we see Colossians 3:2 played out

"Set your mind on things above and not on earthly things" 

That is how we ultimately guard our heart, we can't let the things of this world sway us right and left, we must stand firm in our faith and trust in our Jesus. Seeking Him fully will only happen when we rid ourselves of this world.

That is why we must guard our hearts, so that we can let Jesus fully use us for His glory. 

I hope you don't think any of this means I don't think guarding your heart when it comes to boys isn't important, because I believe it is. My heart behind this is that we would ultimately see that that's not where the verse stops. We have to stop using bible verses for our own personal pick me ups and remember that Jesus wants us to see the truth, and the whole truth. 

Think of things above so Jesus can flow from you and people can see His grace through you.