In Proverbs 4:23 scriptures tells us, “Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life.” Above all else….obviously this is a huge deal.

We live in a world of divided hearts and interests. I love my job but sometimes it competes for my devotion to my family. I love being on the move but so often that desire competes for my need to rest. I love to focus on one thing but sometimes that gets in the way of me trying to balance my different commitments. The list goes on and on but there are always tons of priorities and desires vying for our attention.

My deepest commitment is to Christ but I’d be lying if I said that there weren’t things that competed with that commitment. One of the hardest challenges in following Jesus is that he is uncompromising in his commitment to truth and righteousness. He is not swayed by manipulation and he sees through ulterior motives. This challenges me to always keep it real with him but sometimes I would rather hide. I would rather pretend that he is impressed with my lukewarm devotion and stay committed to other things as well.

I’m sure that deep down you want to serve God…you want to love your family completely…you want to be honest….you want to be brave…you want to be truthful….but your heart is under attack.

We must heed those words from Proverbs to guard our hearts. I believe that we all have a sense of true north. We all at least see a glimmer of that lighthouse in the distance even when the waves are crashing over our boats. Stay the course. Make the hard choices to live with integrity. The nobility and authenticity of your heart is your greatest asset in life. If you compromise on that, the rest is just smoke and mirrors. What do you want to be known for? How much is it worth to you?