God designed our sternum, rib cage, and the surrounding muscles to form a barrier to help protect the physical heart from trauma, Obviously, with the invention of weapons there was also the need for extra armor. All the way back to the Old Testament times, you can find people wearing armor around their bodies, and even today, we have police officers and military wearing bullet-proof vests. In a similar way, we must do what we can to guard our spiritual hearts. In Proverbs 4:23 he says, “Watch over your heart with all diligence, for from it flow the springs of life.” Look at the surrounding verses and you just might find some things to help you in guarding your heart. Keep Instruction in Your Heart This chapter is really about listening to the wise wisdom of the earthly father. Yet, it is also understood that the true wisdom being relayed is also God’s wisdom. Our parents are (or should be) the first line of defense for us in learning things that will guard our hearts. In the perfect scenario our parents teach us about God’s word and guide us in his way (Deut. 6:1 15; Prov. 1:7-8; Eph. 6:1-3). So the wise man of Proverbs reminds us to keep those words of God in “the midst of your heart” (4:21). Put Away Unrighteousness The first thing She gives in the instruction to “guard your heart” is to “put away from you a deceitful mouth and put devious speech far from you” (4:24). There is a direct link from the heart to the mouth. And it seems to be a two-way street. The mouth speaks from that which fills the heart (Luke 6:45), but the things that are spoken defile a person (Matt. 15:11). The harsh words that are spoken can also create a great deal of trouble for us. Proverbs 15:1 says that a harsh word stirs up anger. So, if we want to stay out of struggles that will often lead to more problems thus impacting our hearts, we should watch what we say. Stay Focused on the Goal Ahead. The rest of Proverbs 4 is spent encouraging us to keep our eyes directly ahead. Most of the time in the Bible, looking back or from side to side is seen as something that will hinder your progress, whether in terms of plowing a field (Luke 9:62) or in longing for what you had (Luke 17:32), or walking on the water to Jesus (Matt. 14:30). The same is true for us. It is difficult to walk the “straight and narrow” path if we spend our time glancing around at what the world has to offer or distracted by the cares of the world. That is why the Hebrew writer encouraged us to fix our eyes on Jesus as we run the race of Christianity (Heb. 12:1-3). It was Paul who said he presses on to the goal by “forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead” (Phil. 3:13-14). Guard your heart. He has provided us with some very easy ways to do so, but each of us have to commit to it ourselves. Paul told the Ephesians to put on the armor of God so that they could be guarded from the schemes of the devil. One of those was the “breastplate of righteousness” (6:14). That breastplate that consists of righteousness, or living the right way, guards the heart. If you haven’t put it on yet, now is a good time. Your heart is important. Don’t neglect it.