How to Have a Spiritually Focused Life

by Marvin R. Knight

“Watch over your heart with all diligence, for from it flow the springs of life.” Proverbs 4:23

The divine command given in this verse is to “Watch over your heart…” The divine directive is to watch over your heart—“…with all diligence…” The divine reason for the directive is that “…from it flow the springs of life.” The Hebrew translation of this verse could read, “Above all things that have to be guarded, keep or guard your heart.”

The priority here is that there are many other important things in life that must be guarded, such as your health, your riches, your property, and your family, but before and above everything else, the object of your uppermost observation is the heart. You must guard it. It is the most precious possession committed to your trust.

What are we to watch over?

In the Bible, the heart is to the life what the head is to the body—it is command central. It is the citadel of man. In this operations center you find the mind (Prov.23:7), the affections, the conscience, and the will. The heart stands for the whole inner life of a man, which is compared to a city. (Prov.25:28) As a city,

• It has entrance gates—the eye gate and the ear gate receive thoughts and impulses from without.
• It has ways of exit—it exports what it imports, and it sends signals and messages that can be both good and bad.
• It has internal freeways—where information is carried from the mind to the heart, and from the affections to the conscience and the will. Traffic inside can be heavy on some days and light on others; nevertheless, order is key and the danger of a major accident always exists.
• It has warehouses—the memory stores pictures from the past. Some are beauty portraits of memorable lessons. Others are vile and perverted scenes of lust and corruption. Every day, we walk through the gallery—gazing at the some pictures, turn away from or ignoring others. Stocking our picture gallery with healthy scenery is productive for a sanctified life.
• It has factories—it is in the heart that all sorts of things are produced, according to Jesus (Matt.15:18-20). In the heart of a child it is the place where foolishness is bound up; great care must be exercised in bringing it out (Prov.22:15).
• It has parks of recreation—places we go to relax and play, thus we have the warning from Paul to “…not get drunk with wine, for that is dissipation, but be filled with the Spirit.” (Eph.5:18).
• It has shrines of worship—if you could open up the curtains that cover every heart, you would find a shrine, a place of worship. As a Christian, we must see to it that no idol takes the place of the true God, no incense of hypocrisy is burned, no praise given to another.
• It has graveyards and ghosts—yes, there are dead dreams and loves, upon which some of us place fresh flowers each week. In the graveyard of our hearts there should also be dead sins of the past; ghosts that haunt us are the memories of the past that come clanging their chains and seeking to enslave us to fear. You know about these ghosts, don’t you? What ghosts of your past keep popping up seeking to haunt you?

Why are we to watch over it?

Because of what comes out of it—“…for from it flow the issues of life.” “For” is the conjunction that connects the command with the reason. The reason the heart is to be guarded is because all the actions of life are determined by the heart’s condition. The heart here is compared with a fountain, and as the fountain is, so are the streams. If the heart is pure, the life will be pure. If the heart is corrupt, then the life will be corrupt. The heart is the spring, the source, the center from which actions are determined. It is a self-acting pump from which all our activities are derived. If the citadel be taken, the whole city must surrender. If the heart is seized, the whole man—affections, desires, motives and the mind—will be yielded up and defeated.

The fundamental principle here is that if the heart is taken care of first, and right principles are cultivated and affections set on things above, then the practice of the particulars in life will be sure to follow.

However, is it not enough to know biblical truths or be able to articulate biblical principles. Beneath principles lies character, and beneath the character lies life—spiritual life or the absence thereof. Therefore, the prerequisite is not to do this deed or that duty it is to possess eternal life in the heart (John 17:3), out of which will flow the spiritual virtue and power to every nook and cranny of your conduct.

How are we to do it?

John Flavel once said, “The greatest difficulty in conversion is to win the heart to God, and after conversion to keep it with Him.”[1] “With all diligence,” in other words, is an active keeping, not a passive watching. To “watch over your heart” does not mean simply avoiding the things that can defile it, but the emphasis lies on the active side of guarding it like an army garrison. The idea of “diligence” here carries with it thought of obligation. The watching of the heart is to be so prominent in your mind that an obligation and a conviction lie upon you in keeping it. Because of its precious cargo, the Christian can never be caught sleeping at his post. The consequences are too devastating!

• The heart must be known in order to be effectively kept.By this, I am not saying that we can know our hearts completely, but we can know the tendencies of our hearts, the dispositions, the strengths, the weaknesses, and the longings of our hearts. If you do not know your weak spots and the sins that so easily entangle you (Heb.12:1-2), be sure of this: Satan does!

• Once you know the general tenor and frame of your heart, the question must come to you, “Can I keep my own heart?” And the answer is, absolutely NOT! The call to watch over our hearts does not imply that we have the ability to do so. So how do we reconcile the command of God with the need we have?

1. Remember, it’s God’s work, but it’s man’s agency. He implants the active principle and sustains the exercise; we submit in loyalty and respond in obedience. (Phil.2:12; Jude 24)
2. In conscious faith, commit the keeping of our souls to a faithful Creator. (1 Pet.4:19)
3. Watch and pray.
4. Cherish a humble and dependent spirit.
5. Live in the atmosphere of the Word of God.
6. Resist the entry of the world’s pleasures, treasures, and values into your life.

How are we to do this practically?

Your Lips (v.24)—watch falsehood of speech by guarding the ear gate from the company of those who are deceitful (misrepresent what is true) and devious (twisted in thinking). The mouth is the most ready expression of the heart, and we must remember that we are responsible for our words. Our words are like deeds in the sight of God (Matt.12:36), which carry influence and linger in memories long after you have been forgotten. 

Your Eyes (v.25)—watch falsehood of actions by maintaining a singleness of heart and simplicity of aim. The eye is one of the chief gateways of knowledge. Charles Bridges called it, “The directive faculty of the soul.”[2]Do nothing rashly, but let everything be done with premeditation. Job made a covenant with his eyes (Job 31:1). Lot’s wife lost her life because she looked back (Gen.19:17, 26). If you want to keep a singleness of heart, you must be guided by a simplicity of aim. (Cf. Matt.5:28-29)

Your Feet (v.26)—remove obstacles to progress by considering your actions before you take them.

• Your gaze is to be concentrated.
• Your feet are to be fixed straightforward, and not to be deflected onto other paths by adversity or prosperity.
• Beware of mistaking presumption for faith or temptation for divine appointments.
• The man or woman of God must have only one standard (Is.7:20)

“And your ears will hear a word behind you, ‘This is the way, walk in it,’ whenever you turn to the right or to the left.” (Is.30:21)