As a child, I often heard the phrase, “See no evil, Hear no evil, Speak no evil.” So many times, the lessons of our childhood ring with truth in our adult years.
Solomon wrote, “Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it.” (Proverbs 4:23).
As the center of our being, our heart must be protected, conditioned, and used for the purposes for which it was designed.
Protect your heart from evil. Understand and manage your inputs.
Don’t fall into the dangerous trap of being more concerned in your daily lives with a personal narrative — and therefore less concerned with harvesting permanent virtues, such as the never-changing fruits of the spirit (Galatians 5). True? If it’s true for individuals, then it’s true for collective sets of individuals: neighborhoods, communities, cities, and for our country.
Inputs lead to outputs.
Bathe your heart in the Word. Know the truth. Abide in it.
Jesus stated, “Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” (John 8:32) This truth is God’s word, the Bible. It is written for you; to you, with the purpose of setting you free. The good news of the gospel is that freedom; the only solution to our sin problem.
Love God. Love your neighbor.
Through the management of inputs, there is an application of the truth in our daily lives: Loving God and loving our neighbors.
Jesus stated, “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments” (Matthew 22:37-40).
Our heart is the center of our being. It must be protected and conditioned to serve as it was designed: to Love God and our brothers and sisters.
Be Strong & Courageous! 