So above all, guard the affections of your heart, for they affect all that you are. Pay attention to the welfare of your innermost being, for from there flows the wellspring of life. Proverbs 4:23 TPT
Who is a guard? Quite simply, this is a person employed to protect a building or property against intruders or damage. One thing is obvious from that definition, and it is that there are both internal and external threats that a guard must address. Another thing that is clear is that the guard is not doing the work for free. By the nature of the job, there must be some training, information and secrets that are under the direct or indirect influence or control of the guard. This is why the guard is paid a fair wage as an employee, as motivation for the work to be done. I also note that the job is not related to or based on gender; if the person, role and specifications fit, it's a match.
The above lays the foundation for where God wants us to focus on this day. The place of treasure is the human heart. That is where God seeks to deposit the gifts that will bless the world. He places these great treasures in earthen vessels so that no man can take the glory for the gifts, but the responsibility to guard the treasure from internal rot due to non-use or misuse, as well as from being stolen or lost, lies on me, the person employed by God to guard the place of treasure. I am the guard, and God is the employer. My heart is the place of treasure, because my heart is the place from where all that will impact my world, both positive and negative, will flow from there.
The guard is not concerned with what goes on in another treasure house; his first and only priority is to secure the place where he has been employed to guard. Even when there is an alarm triggered by a robbery going on in the property next door, as long as there is no immediate threat to the place the guard is securing, he cannot be concerned with what is going on next door. The issues next door could be a distraction to make the guard lose focus; s/he will not be paid for securing another property if where s/he was employed to guard is broken into. Am I focused on the place where God has asked me to stand guard and secure, or am I too distracted to sit in the place where I have been assigned?
I must understand that my heart is the place of treasure. At birth, it is built as a treasure house, and I will spend the rest of my life laying up treasure in it. There is nothing I do, see, say or become that is not as a result of the things I have spent time storing up. That is why I am asked to guard the affections of my heart. What are the movies that catch and hold my attention? Does gossip about other people interest me in any way? Does the need to get even with people drive my actions and reactions? Can I be trusted with other people's money? Can God commit the lives of other men into my hands? These questions give you a view of the importance of the heart in God's scheme of things.
I must learn the rudiments of the work that God has placed in my hands, and not assume that I know it all. I must strive to carry out the job that has been assigned to me, not what I see other people do. My heart is my responsibility, not my pastor's. God will judge him for his own actions, but he will not be solely responsible for my own heart's focus and life actions. God may demand an account from him, but he sure will not overlook my own part. The welfare of the heart requires my attention, because it is its current state that determines my final estate.
Planning for eternity does not allow me to be careless about anything that touches my heart. I must be deliberate about its focus, and careful about its pursuits and priorities. God knows the heart of man, and understands what it is capable of, and that is why I am tasked with guarding it. God will supply grace but I must tap into that grace and make sure I am all that God expects. I must invest in the welfare of the heart, feed it right, treat it right, so it can always lead to the right outcome. Whatever I feed it, it will take, nurture, multiply it and give it back in multiple ways. All I give it by becomes a spring, that will lead to an eternal supply. If it will spring forth with God's grace, I must feed it that which is full of God's grace. May the Lord make me a right guard for all he has laid on my heart, so that my life can be a generational blessing. God's time of favour is here.
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