Proverbs 4:23 (NKJV)
Keep your heart with all diligence, for out of it spring the issues of life.
The condition of your heart is extremely important to your success. You are to “keep” your heart, which means diligently guard and protect it. The condition of your heart is instrumental to your success in life, for out of the heart spring the issues of life. The condition of your heart affects everything you do. Your heart is facilitating the results, or lack thereof, that you are experiencing in your life. Guard your heart for it determines the course of your life.
The heart is a metaphor for the core self, the inner being of man, the man himself. As such, it is the fountain of all he does. The heart is the innermost spring of personal life; the source of all thoughts and plans, attitudes and desires, motives and choices. The heart is the source and deep seat of the intellect, emotions, and will. It is the center of cognitive and imaginative processes. The heart is the inner part of a person’s being where decisions, obedience, intentionality, and devotion are formed. A person’s character is determined by the condition of his or her heart.
The Greek Dictionary in Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible defines the heart (kardia Strong’s #2588) as the thoughts or feelings. You keep your heart with all diligence by controlling the thoughts that continually occupy your mind, and by managing the feelings you experience every day. Control the door to your heart and the outcomes (results) in your life will tend to be positive. Whatever you permit to go through that doorway will eventually be incorporated into programming your success mechanism. Your success mechanism is how your spirit, soul, and body are influenced by the condition of your heart.
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