King Solomon of Israel, one of the wisest men to walk the earth, said in the book of proverbs, "Above all else, guard your heart, for it is a well spring of life" or in another version says, "for out of it spring the issues of life". So if the most important thing to one of the wisest men ever is to guard your heart then it's time to listen. Thankfully he then proceeds to write four lines of instruction.
"Put away perversity from your mouth; keep corrupt talk far from your lips.
Let your eyes look straight ahead, fix your gaze directly before you.
Make level paths for your feet and take only ways that are firm.
Do not swerve to the right or the left; keep your foot from evil."
We are going to look at the second one: "Let your eyes look straight ahead, fix your gaze directly before you."
2. Focus Forward
If I were to get in my car and back out of the driveway, I would need to look in my rear view mirror. It comes in handy for a portion of the journey. However if I were to move out of reverse and put the car in drive and continue to use the rear view mirror for the rest of the journey, you know there would be some disastrous results. Changing lanes makes a great parallel to evaluating past decisions, a quick glance will do you. Evaluate quickly and make your move. You can't drive safely or get where you need to go by looking continually behind you. You look straight ahead to reach your destination.
Here's are a few thoughts on how to focus on the journey ahead:
I know this one can be hard. When I accepted Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior fourteen years ago I was so relieved to feel the overwhelming love and forgiveness of God sweep over my heart. Once I felt that forgiveness I found it easier to forgive others. I still had a person or two I was just not ready to forgive and then a wise friend told me to look at unforgiveness like this: you are taking a poison pill and waiting for the other person to die. I realized I wasn't perfect and needed forgiveness so how could I possibly hold something against another imperfect person.
Unforgiveness really is a poison and it will kill you: kill your ability to give and receive love, kill the quality of your relationships, kill the opportunities in life. If you hold unforgiveness in your heart you will hold bitterness too. Bitter people repel anything good that tries to come into their life. Choosing to be bitter is a mistake. You might thing that you have no choice but to be bitter because people hurt or abused you. Your choice is the one thing people can not take from you.
Viktor Frankl, a Jewish therapist, neurosurgeon, Auschwitz survivor and philosopher wrote, "We who lived in concentration camps can remember the men who walked through the huts comforting others, giving away their last piece of bread. They may have been few in number, but they offer sufficient proof that everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of the human freedoms—to choose one's attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one's own way."
What is done to us does not have to determine our decisions and choices. It often does but ultimately it doesn't have to. Choose to live a life free of unforgiveness, bitterness and rage. I don't expect someone to do it without God's help but I do think with that help it can radically revolutionize a persons whole life. There is nothing like experiencing freedom from unforgiveness. I know because in my heart there is peace where there was once chaos, there is joy where there was once misery, there is hope where there was once hopelessness and there is love where there was once hate.
More on Viktor Frankl: http://webspace.ship.edu/cgboer/frankl.html Here's are a few thoughts on how to focus on the journey ahead:
A. Stop looking at the past.
It is very easy to have a wounded heart if you focus on what's behind you. If your energy is completely centered around situations that hurt you or people who have let you down then not only will you live in that moment, you're going to miss great moments ahead as well. I'm not saying to ignore things in your past because clearly if you don't deal with those situations then they will have a hold of your future ones. Sometimes when we've been hurt or abused, instead of dealing with the situation we tend to put ourselves repeatedly back in the same scenario to see if it will work out the way we want it to this time. That rarely happens. If you can evaluate the situation, deal with it and move on, then you are much less likely to get in that situation again, whether as the perpetrator or the victim.
B. Stop looking at other people and things.
Comparison and distractions will keep you from focusing on your journey. Let's get back to that driving metaphor. Say you're in a race and you're doing great. You are on track and making good time. What if you start to look at the people driving next to you. You can start to feel insecure that your car isn't good enough or arrogantly underestimate your competition. What if you get into focusing so much on the person next to you, you miss a turn, hit a car in front of you or you just get plain lost. To get on track spiritually, get your eyes off people, get them on God, so you will see clearly where to go. People will disappoint you, so focus on God.
C. Check your motives.
The biggest thing that looking around instead of focusing forward will do is effect your motives. Motives are a big deal to God. You could have begun a homeless outreach out of the compassion of your heart ten years ago and now you are reaching hundreds of people. That's awesome if you are doing it for the right reason still. Yes people are being helped regardless, but unless you keep your heart pure, it won't last. If the motive begins to be about the pats on the back, the name recognition or the media attention, then you didn't guard your heart. Corruption will always make its way into an unguarded heart, because your ego is never satisfied.
Say you want to make a billion dollars, then go for it. We need some more philanthropists in this hurting world, but be ready to give plenty of it away. The second that money begins to have a hold on you then you didn't guard your heart and corruption will come. There's no health in a spiritual heart where corruption lies. That's why Jesus said "Pick up your cross, deny yourself and follow me." Never should your ego or lust for physical comfort or material things rule your heart. The ego comes last for spiritual health to shine.
The amazing thing about a healthy heart is how slight the tweak needs to be to get back on track. If you feel something has a hold over you then ask God for help and do the opposite of what you feel. Just serve somebody without them knowing. Do something kind to someone who can't repay you. Give lavishly to a worthy project completely anonymously. These are great ways to get your motives right and regain your focus. What ever you choose to do in life, put a major emphasis on your motives and guard your heart so you can see great spiritual health emerge.
D. Know where you're going.
Figure out where you are going in every realm of life. If you make no plans for your physical health then you could end up in a doctor's office with bad news or a hospital room with grieving loved ones. If you make no plans for your financial health then you could end up in debt, with poor credit and in constant crisis mode. If you have no idea where you're going spiritually than you could ultimately end up somewhere spiritually bankrupt.
I set goals where I attend to go spiritually every year. For example I determine that I will pray and read scripture daily, attend regular church and worship service, set days aside for fasting, attend conferences on spiritual growth, read books on spiritual principles, follow my pastors' spiritual direction and reach out to hurting people with the love of Jesus. I am not perfect with all of this but I have goals and I try to reach them. There is a saying that 'goals that are not written down are just wishes'. If you want to know where you are going in any realm, set some specific goals.
E. Choose to move on.
I know this one can be hard. When I accepted Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior fourteen years ago I was so relieved to feel the overwhelming love and forgiveness of God sweep over my heart. Once I felt that forgiveness I found it easier to forgive others. I still had a person or two I was just not ready to forgive and then a wise friend told me to look at unforgiveness like this: you are taking a poison pill and waiting for the other person to die. I realized I wasn't perfect and needed forgiveness so how could I possibly hold something against another imperfect person.
Unforgiveness really is a poison and it will kill you: kill your ability to give and receive love, kill the quality of your relationships, kill the opportunities in life. If you hold unforgiveness in your heart you will hold bitterness too. Bitter people repel anything good that tries to come into their life. Choosing to be bitter is a mistake. You might thing that you have no choice but to be bitter because people hurt or abused you. Your choice is the one thing people can not take from you.
Viktor Frankl, a Jewish therapist, neurosurgeon, Auschwitz survivor and philosopher wrote, "We who lived in concentration camps can remember the men who walked through the huts comforting others, giving away their last piece of bread. They may have been few in number, but they offer sufficient proof that everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of the human freedoms—to choose one's attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one's own way."
What is done to us does not have to determine our decisions and choices. It often does but ultimately it doesn't have to. Choose to live a life free of unforgiveness, bitterness and rage. I don't expect someone to do it without God's help but I do think with that help it can radically revolutionize a persons whole life. There is nothing like experiencing freedom from unforgiveness. I know because in my heart there is peace where there was once chaos, there is joy where there was once misery, there is hope where there was once hopelessness and there is love where there was once hate.
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