Above all else, guard your heart,
       for it is the wellspring of life.

– Proverbs 4:23

I’ve been known to be a fairly cynical person in the past, something I’ve been working to change over the past few years. In thinking about this verse now, I realize I used to look at it in completely the wrong way. I always took it to mean that you were supposed to protect yourself from pain. In other words, guard yourself from other people — you can’t trust them — because sooner or later you’ll end up hurt.

What a cynical view that was! I now understand that it does mean that you need to protect yourself, but not in the same way that I used to think. Instead, it means that you need to protect your beliefs, protect your faith. The world is an evil place, and the unwary heart can easily fall into the trap of sin. So guard yourself by standing strong in the faith and by staying as far as you possibly can from the temptations of sin (Proverbs 4:14-15).

Because this faith, this relationship, this Christ — HE is the wellspring of life.