Guard your heart 

Proverbs 4:23… (NIV)… “Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it.”

A mentor once told me that if she is having a conversation with her husband and they realize that it is heading in the direction of gossip, one of them will stop and give the other the “are you guarding your heart” look? They have a signal for guarding their hearts, and they are quick to watch out for it and alerting each other. The first time she shared this with me, I remember going home and deeply thinking about it. I actually realized that many times I have been in certain unhealthy conversation fully aware, but I would keep going on with it. For example, I have discovered that it is easier for me to respect and receive from a man or woman of God when I do not know much about their personal lives. When I do not have details about their marriage, money habits, children’s behavior for instance, I will receive God’s message from them well. This has made me decide to not go around looking for information about people. it helps to keep my heart free from rumors and gossip. When I realize that a friend is starting to volunteer information that will make fail to give people the honor due to them, I stop them immediately. This has won me more friends and more enemies alike. We live in a generation of “did you hear?” or “why have I not heard yet?” People will tell a story as if they were in the room when those things were happening. Many of us are not making progress in our lives and our mental health is at stake because God is not happy with how we have treated others in secret. You ought to decide to find no reason to snoop around concerning other people’s affairs. You have too much to deal with already- guard your heart.
Key Learning Point: Out of your heart flows the issues of life. Guard it!
Prayer and Response: Ask the Lord to keep you alert and help you to guard your heart daily.