Proverbs 4:23-25 Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life. (24) Put away from thee a froward mouth, and perverse lips put far from thee. (25) Let thine eyes look right on, and let thine eyelids look straight before thee.
The heart pumps the precious pure blood of life into every part of our body. The actual quality of our heart affects the health of our whole body. Is our heart weak? Is it strong? Is it sturdy? Urban life today causes us to do many that negatively affects the quality of our heart. Our food habits also contribute to degrade its quality, and we suffer dire consequences for it. A healthy heart means a healthy body. A sick heart means a sick body.
Our author refers to these properties when he admonishes his son. The way to our heart is through our eyes and ears. Whatever we see, hear or get emotionally affected by, gets recorded in the tablets of our soul and affects the heart of our being.
This son is told by his concerned father to keep his heart pure. He is told to keep his heart pure by staying away from the ‘froward mouth’. This means to stay away from the people who talk against God, because constantly hearing something eventually affects the soul. Advertisers know that. This son is also told to keep his eyes straight on the Words of God. This means to stay his eyes on godly sight rather than on ungodly scenes or actions, because the things we see affect our heart even more than those we hear. A picture is worth a thousand words, and can carry subliminal messages. Advertisers also know that. The eye is a much quicker learner than the ear.
May we follow this wise advice and keep our hearts pure. Let us keep not only our hearts pure, but also the heart of our children. As parents, we need to emulate this father who admonished his child about his company and his entertainment.
Today those questions remain: with all the sights and sounds that we are bombarded with on every side, is it a wonder that our society’s moral standards are going down? Is it a wonder that our youth lacks godly values? We cannot fight the media giants but can we be the gatekeepers of the hearts of our children?
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