“Above all else guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it.” Proverbs 4:23

This verse is great advice for daily living but it requires constant attention. We each are challenged with many temptations and distractions and to avoid being led astray by a divided heart we need to take action.

How do you do that? Let’s start with the next four verses of Proverbs 4, which provide simple and practical advice for guarding your heart and avoiding temptation’s trap.

(Proverbs 4:24) “Keep your mouth free of perversity; keep corrupt talk far from your lips.” This basically means that if you know it’s wrong don’t say it; don’t start or repeat rumors and don’t stir up dissension by what you say. Guard your heart.

(Proverbs 4:25) “Let your eyes look straight ahead; fix your gaze directly before you.” If you know it’s wrong don’t watch it. Regarding sexual temptation, aim to be like Job, who said “I made a covenant with my eyes not to look lustfully at a young woman.” (Job 31:1). As a friend of mine said, “your first look may be involuntary, but the second look is on you.” Guard your heart.

(Proverbs 4:26-27) “Give careful thought to the paths for your feet and be steadfast in all your ways. Do not turn to the right or the left; keep your foot from evil.” Think before you make the decision to go someplace that you know will be filled with temptations to do wrong. If you don’t, you may find yourself like the bird described in Proverbs 7:23, “darting into a snare, little knowing it will cost him his life.” Guard your heart.

The best way to guard your heart against temptation is to fill it with God’s word. “I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you.” (Psalm 119:11) Guard your heart.