#proverbs 4:23

Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it. ~Proverbs 4:23

God doesn’t look at external appearances but at the heart (1 Samuel 16:7). And again (Isaiah 29:13),

The Lord says: “These people come near to me with their mouth and honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. Their worship of me is based on merely human rules they have been taught.

This verse talks about religious hypocrisy, highlighting that outward expressions of faith without genuine heartfelt devotion are unacceptable to God. God searches our heart. (Psalm 139:23) The essence of His law is to love Him and others with all of our heart (Matthew 22:37-39).

Jesus said that our words and treasures reveal the true state of our hearts (Matthew 6:21, 12:34). And Jesus promised that rivers of living water will flow from within when we come to Him and believe in Him.(John 7:37-38)

Our heart is the deepest part of what is truly us. It’s the wellspring from which our dreams, desires, passions, motives, emotions, decisions, and actions arise. So it’s no wonder that Scripture says to guard it! Our heart really does “determine the course” of our lives—both here and beyond.

Proverbs 4:23

Above all else, guard your heart,

for everything you do flows from it.

Keep your heart with all vigilance, for from it flow the springs of life.