Listen my son, and be wise. Keep your heart on the right path. Proverb 23:19
God admonishes us to listen to him and to be wise and to keep our hearts on the right path. In Proverbs 23:26 he again admonishes us to give him our hearts and to take delight in following his ways.
How do we keep our hearts on the right path?
By seeking God’s word and God’s ways and putting them into practice in our life. He doesn’t just want our hearts on Sunday mornings, and then go on doing our own thing during the rest of the week. This is not his way!
It is the Lord’s will that we follow the right path in every area of our life – every hour of every day. He longs for us to continually walk in faith, in hope and love – with the greatest emphasis on love. He wants us to bring his love into all of our relationships. At home , at work, in our friendships – with everyone at all times, in every situation. There is never a time he doesn’t want us to love. God’s perfect will for your life, and mine, is that we keep our hearts on the path of love – for God is love.
What would our communities look like if each one of us would strive to keep our hearts on the right path?
What would this world like look like if each one of us gave God our hearts and delighted in following his ways alone? I believe the world would be a much different and better place.
In Matthew 7:13-14 Jesus teaches us:
Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.
Keeping our hearts on the right path is the narrow gate.
Notice the Lord says only a few find it. Why do you think that is? The answer lies within your heart. What is your heart fixed on? The ways of God, or the ways of the world? This world with so many distractions. We are bombarded by Satan’s tools of deception and distractions more today than ever before. What are they?
The Internet/Social Media
Television
Movies
News and Politics
Sports
Gaming
Cell phones
Texting
And I’m sure we could go on and on.
Keeping our hearts fixed on the world and focused on any or all of these things is the wide gate and the broad road that leads to destruction – and Jesus tells us many enter through it.
Do not love this world nor the things it offers you, for when you love the world, you do not have the love of the Father in you. 1 John 2:15
We can choose the Kingdom of God, or we can choose the world, but we cannot have them both. Only you can choose which path you take. God’s Kingdom is eternal and the way is narrow. The way of the world is the wide road – it is only temporary and will soon pass away and be no more.
I long to listen and be wise and keep my heart on the right path. Will you join with me? It’s never too late to rededicate your life and your heart to Jesus and choose the narrow path. And should you choose this path, don’t walk it alone -encourage others to join you!