THE VALUE OF THE HEART

“And these words which I command you today shall be in your HEART” – Deuteronomy 6:6

The Worth of God’s Word correlates with the VALUE of the HEART: “And these words which I command you today shall be in your HEART” (Deut.6:6). God’s Words are precious treasures, and so are our hearts. God desires that we diligently and securely keep the treasures of His Word in the treasure of our heart! God always wants our hearts more than any other thing we may offer Him. It’s from the heart that we can truly love God: “You shall LOVE the Lord your God with ALL YOUR HEART, with all your soul, and with all your strength” (v.5). Loving God from our heart is the prerequisite to loving Him with our soul or mind and our strength or body.

The heart is vital for life and leadership. The worth of the heart is such that if the heart fails, life falls. There are several reasons why the heart is a priority to life and destiny and therefore be diligently guarded.

The heart is immensely valuable; hence it must be diligently guarded. We don’t guard worthless things. No one steals garbage from the refuse dump; it’s left on the sidewalk for days on end, completely unguarded because it is worthless. Not so with our heart. The matter of the heart is an “above all else” matter: “Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it” (Pro.4:23, NIV). This is not an opinion, suggestion, or option. Solomon didn’t say, “It would be nice if” or “Why not consider if” No, he says, “make the matter of your heart your top priority.” Whatever the situation, the matter of the heart is always the heart of the matter!

The heart is the source of everything we do. The heart is the fountain or “wellspring of life”: the source of everything else in our lives. A spring is a feature of nature from which water flows to the surface of the earth from deep under the ground, to then accumulate in pools or run off into creeks and streams. If we plug up the spring, we stop the flow of water. If we poison the spring, the flow becomes toxic. In either situation, we threaten life downstream. Everything depends on the condition of the spring. Likewise, if our heart is unhealthy, it has an impact on everything else in the package of destiny: personal life, family, friends, career, ministry, and, indeed, our legacy. Our heart overflows into thoughts, words, and actions. It is, therefore crucial and essential that we guard it.

The heart is the enemy’s target. The heart is under constant attack. Every human being lives in a combat zone. From the womb to the tomb, life is a battle field in which there are casualties; and the most critical combat arena is the heart! Guarding our heart is not an option. Many people are oblivious to the reality of this war and the enemy who is bent on their destruction. Satan and his agents not only oppose God, they oppose and attack everything that is aligned with Him – including the Believer. The heart is the enemy’s target, against which he sends fiery, wicked darts of doubt and fear! If Satan can capture the heart, he can invade the mind, assault the body, and infiltrate life with addictions, disappointment, discouragement, disillusionment, depression, hypertension, and suicide.

A fierce battle is raging for the control of our hearts. When God is in the heart, then we think right, live right, and do right. When God is absent, we think wrong, do wrong, and live wrong. If we are going to survive, succeed, and thrive in life and leadership, and make temporal and eternal Impact, we must guard our hearts. The heart is more important than we can possibly imagine. If we lose heart, we have lost everything. My heart is the essence of who I am. My heart is my authentic self – the core of my being. My heart is the fountain from which all my dreams, desires, and passions flow. It is that part of me that connects with God and other people.