Guard Your Heart

There is no doubt we have become a visually dominated society. From Facebook, Instagram, to Snapchat, we are constantly bombarded with an instant-perfect picture. Filter after filter, edit after edit, there is no flaw in sight. And then we wait for the ‘likes’ to pile up. Of course this feels good. It is instant gratification. Social media has an ironic twist to it. Instead of staying connected to the people in our lives that matter, it derives an implicit form of competition that we may be oblivious of, and in turn, find ourselves posting numerous pictures of ourselves, or our latest vacation to let the world know we are having the time of our lives. It is a cycle that has captured so many people day after day.

On that note, these problems do not simply occur in social media, but they are also prevalent in other forms. Music videos and song lyrics from the past decade have taken on the theme of the partying and clubbing lifestyle and the promotion of promiscuity. Again, only focusing on physical attributes and feeding the visual monster. Girls and women often become the victims to this type of living. Not to say that boys and men do not struggle with this too, but there are many strong and specific type of markets that capture females more strongly than men. Girls and women are highly sexualized in music videos and in clothing. This in turn gives us a false green light into thinking that everything we see is ok.

Life is not an MTV music video. This lifestyle is as short as our miniskirts. One will never find true joy chasing these superficial deities that lead to depression and dissatisfaction. This is not to say that we should never go on Facebook, or scroll through Instagram again, but rather approach it with a critical mind and keep a focus on things that will bring truth and life, keeping your intentions in line.

Paul, author of Romans in the Bible, wrote, “Let us walk properly as in the daytime, not in orgies and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and sensuality, not in quarreling and jealousy. But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires,” (Romans 13: 13- 14). Everything that we do needs to point to Jesus and the life giving ways of His nature. The reality is, life’s not about us. If it were, we would live a very sad and lonely life chasing what we want. Sometimes this is a tough aspect to let go, but there is no life in the ways of ourselves. Jesus is the Way, the Truth, and the Life, (John 14: 6) and we must strive to become a reflection of His love and all that He is.

So how can we initiate this process of discernment? The answer is very simple. Proverbs gives us an answer that can summarize this entire post. “Guard your heart above all else, for it determines the course of your life,” (Proverbs 4:23). Similarly, there are physical oppressions that may attempt to attack our earthly bodies such as illness, but there are also emotional and spiritual ones that target the heart.

The well-being of your heart is in a battlefield every day, but we can be sure the Lord has given us a steadfast focus to coordinate our path toward Him.

And so, we leave you with this Word:

“Even strong young lions sometimes go hungry, but those who trust in the Lord will lack no good thing,” (Psalm 34:10).