Living a Gated Life

Living a Gated Life

Proverbs 4: 23, 26&27

23 Keep your heart with all diligence, For out of it spring the issues of life.

26 Ponder the path of your feet, And let all your ways be established.

27 Do not turn to the right or the left; Remove your foot from evil.

   The term "gated community" is used in real estate ads to describe a secure living community, one that is actively guarded.  It usually means that a wall with a gate surrounds the property, and everyone who goes in and out is monitored.  There is usually a guard who stands at the gate as extra security.  Residents who live in gated communities feel more secure because they know the entrances to their home are protected. 

   I’ve learned that my life needs to have some security to guard me against unwanted intruders.  There are a lot of temptations that will come right up to the door of your heart and barge right in and try to make themselves at home.  False teaching will creep in if you’re not careful.  It slides into the corners of your heart and lies in wait to spread its poison into your life.  The only way to keep your heart secure is to guard the door.  Proverbs 4 tells us to "guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life."   We need to monitor what we allow into our lives and block access to what is harmful to us.  If a burglar came to your door and knocked, you would not step back and say, Come on in!  Welcome!  Feel free take my jewelry, my TV and my money.  Take it all!”  No, of course not.  You’d slam the door in their face, lock it, and call the cops.  Or if a person comes and walks into your house and announces he’s a rapist and he’s looking for a victim, you’d defend your family. 

   We need to treat our hearts with as much caution.  When a temptation comes, don’t invite it in.  You can’t sit next to a temptation and think you’ll be safe.  If it’s there it’s a danger to you.  You can’t listen to false teaching and say, “I’ll just hear what they have to say.”  Don’t!  Keep false teaching away from your heart. 

   Gated communities require a lot of diligence 24 hours a day 7 days a week.  So does your heart.  You never know in advance when a temptation will come to you, so you must have a plan in mind so you will know how to react when one comes to you.  You must not let it have access to you heart.  No one will guard your heart for you.  It is your duty to keep your eyes on the truth and your feet on the right path. 

   A guarded heart will benefit us in many ways.  If we guard what we see and what we listen to, it will affect our whole lives.  There is so much in life that will turn our eyes and catch our ears if we let it.  It is no sin to be tempted, but it is if we dwell on the temptation.  In a guarded life we choose the right paths and do not swerve.  Our lives must be directed by His Word.  We need to live by the principles written there for us.

   Pray regularly and read the Word regularly.  Only the truth will keep your heart safe.

  

Stephen Cram                                                   April 27, 2014                                                  

Colossians 2:8 Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, following the tradition of men according to the rudiments of the world, and not in accordance with Christ. 

Visit my pastor’s blog at http://pastorjonrhinehart.blogspot.com/.

Unless otherwise noted all Scripture is from the New King James Version of the Bible.