Ok, I don’t have a green thumb! I think it’s sorta brownish in color! LOL! Well, anyway, there’s a tree in my front yard that didn’t grow any leaves this season. Not unusual for this tree because for some reason it doesn’t always have leaves like the other trees around us. Finally my Dear One (that’s my wife) says “you know that tree is dead right!?” I thought, “how can it really be dead when it’s still standing, it just didn’t grow leaves this year, right?” So after closer examination I noticed that although the bark was still covering the tree, it was brittle and easily pulled away. I also notice several, what appeared to be “tracks”, just under the surface of the bark. It looked as if an artist had used precise tools to form an intricate design on the wood to create a piece of fine art. Oh but no! There is no artist here … how about wood-eating-disgusting-ugly bugs! Their MO appears to be to covertly enter the untreated tree, work methodically under the surface (uninterrupted), and (although the outer bark did show signs of sickness) sap all the life out of the tree from within! By the time you notice it (unless you got that green thumb thing goin on) it’s a little too late! The damage is done! The tree is all but ready to be pulled out of the ground and made into a bench! My analogy is not hard to comprehend, but let me be clear … the same thing can happen within our lives! Let’s get a CLUE!
Prov 4:23 says “Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life.”
An untreated heart is set on a path of destruction. When we allow sin and evil into our hearts and leave it unchecked, just like the tree, it will begin to do irreparable damage from within! On the surface you may look well and healthy, but under the surface is where the problem is! Tracks of hatred, envy, strife, jealousy, bitterness, and plan ole sin make their way throughout your whole body! And like the biblical disease Leprosy, by the time it shows up, it’s already been working under the surface of the skin for too long! (Leviticus 14) There are a few ways in which you the leader, parent, head of Christian organization, etc can “keep” your heart pure. After all, if you the leader work on your heart it will in most cases have positive effect on your followers, members, family, etc.
1. Watch what goes in. Ps 101:3-5 3 I will refuse to look at anything vile and vulgar. I hate all crooked dealings; I will have nothing to do with them. 4 I will reject perverse ideas and stay away from every evil. 5 I will not tolerate people who slander their neighbors. I will not endure conceit and pride. (NLT)
2. Monitor what comes out. Matt 15:19 But the things that come out of the mouth come from the heart, and these make a man 'unclean.' For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander. (KJV)
3. Welcome necessary changes. Ps 139:23-24 Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts: And see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting. (KJV)
So many of the “issues” of life that we struggle with can be traced to a lack of “keeping our hearts” with all diligence! Like my tree, our hearts must be treated with a continued dose of spiritual insecticide … and the best I’ve found is none other than God’s word, the Bible!
You’ve been CLUEd!
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