Of course, I started thinking about the protection over my heart. As we walk through the world every day, we are constantly exposed to sin and sadness. If we let that get to us, our hearts can turn brown like an avocado that’s been exposed to the open air. I don’t know about you, but that’s not the way I want my heart to be. I want it to be as bright and freshly green as a brand new avocado that’s just been cut open. …or one that’s stayed carefully protected from exposure. 

The Bible makes it clear that guarding our hearts from worldly influences should be a top priority. Why? Everything we do is rooted in a motivation or intent, and that motivation comes from our hearts. If you help your neighbor rake up leaves because you just want to help, your heart is probably pure and full of love and generosity! If you help your neighbor rake up leaves because someone pressures you into doing it, you may be filled with feelings of irritation or aggravation. And if that’s the case, those negative emotions will seep out in one way or another. Whatever is in your heart matters! And it can be quickly and powerfully changed, for better or worse.

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

Is there one straightforward, effective thing I could do to keep my heart protected from the open air of the world? With one simple layer of protection, could I make huge progress toward shielding my heart? Just like that one piece of skin saved the greenness of my avocado?  I think there are lots of basic steps we can take, as believers in Christ, to add some extra covering over our hearts in pursuit of purity. Here are a few ideas taken straight out of Scripture.

• Replace worry with prayer. Philippians 4:6-7 says, Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. When you take your troubles to God, his PEACE will guard your heart. Instead of worry and anxiety, which can trigger words, actions and facial expressions that you aren’t proud of, your heart will be ruled by the peace of Jesus.
• Replace the world’s words with God’s words. Psalm 119:11 says, I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you.” What are you reading and listening to when you first wake up in the morning? while you drive? on your lunch break? The words that are entering your mind through your eyes and ears are settling in your heart. If you are constantly reading news stories about political conflict, reading texts full of juicy gossip, or listening to music with raunchy lyrics, those are the emotions and sentiments that are filling your heart. Could you decide on one place/time in your daily routine when you can replace the world’s words with God’s words? 
• Replace doubts with belief. When Jesus knew it was almost time to die on the cross and leave His disciples who He’d shared life with for three years, He took care to speak to their hearts. “Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in me,” Jesus said in John 14:1. He knew that once He died and later ascended into Heaven, the disciples would be missing His physical presence. If they allowed their hearts to be troubled, they might doubt everything they’d learned from Jesus during His time on earth or even doubt their place in the world moving forward following His return to Heaven. And if the disciples’ hearts were filled with doubt, it’s hard to imagine them spreading out into the world to boldly preach the Gospel and essentially instigate and nurture the spread of the early church like they did! Jesus told them to make sure their hearts did not stay filled with troubled thoughts. Instead, they should believe that Jesus would provide, protect, direct and empower them. What a completely different heart condition!

There are many verses throughout the Bible that talk about the heart. I encourage you to open your concordance to read and study even more of them! But these three simple ways to guard and protect your heart are a solid start. It will be a decision you must make daily—even hourly sometimes. But it’s worth the fight. Take your worries to God in prayer! Fill your mind with His words! Choose to believe that God is with you and will provide what you need! 

If for some reason you’re still questioning the importance of shielding your heart from the filth of the world, remember this… The Bible clearly tells us that when God looks at us, He’s not looking at our outward appearances. He doesn’t care about how put together you look to others, how you’re able to fake smile at somebody who you secretly loathe, or how you sit down in the church pew every Sunday morning even though you’re thinking about how you’d rather be somewhere else. God looks straight past all of that and peers through our outer skin and into our hearts. What does He see when He looks at yours? Get out your rubber band, and put your protective measures carefully into place. 

But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The Lord does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.” -1 Samuel 16:7