“My son, give me your heart, and let your eyes observe my ways.”
This little verse is loaded with meaning. It is advice given to a son, (or a daughter), about not choosing the way of the world, which is given in verses preceding and following this verse, but choosing the way of God. The thrust of the verse is the wisdom of giving one’s whole heart to God's ways. What does it mean give our hearts to God. First, it means to have God’s ways implanted in the deepest part of our lives. “Heart” in the Bible refers to our inner lives. This verse is a call to surrender one’s mind and heart to God’s way. We need to be careful what we give our imaginations to, for that is what will, in large part, guide our choices in life. We really need to be careful about what we let into our hearts and minds. Second, it means to give our hearts to the best that is in us and not to the worst that is in us.. As the saying goes today, we don’t need to live on the dark side, but on the side of the light. In John 8:12 Jesus invited us to His light: “Then Jesus spoke to them saying, ‘I am the light of the world: he that knows me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life’.” 1 John 1:7 advises us: “But if we walk in the light, as He is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ cleanses us from all sin.” We are encouraged in Proverbs 23:26 to choose the side of the light, not of the darkness. Third, it means to find our delight in life in Christ and not in the world. Solomon mentions some of the world’s delights in the verses preceding and following our text. For example, he deals with sexual sins in verses 27-28. He mentions the problem of alcoholism in verses 30-35. We need to be careful what we let ourselves become addicted to, because sinful addictions can ruin our lives. We need to give our lives, our time and our talents to following God’s will for our lives. Fourth, we need to understand that all the world offers is not bad, we just need to be wise in what we choose to do in the world. We can waste our lives on things that can ruin our Christian testimony. Just follow the right, and that is what this verse is telling us to do. Just remember that what you let in your heart can lead your eyes to observe the wrong things. Bro. Joe
1 Comment
Annette Harrell
7/22/2016 04:15:08 pm
I heard about your devotions and I would like to be added to your mailing list, please! Your friend, Annette Harrell
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AuthorDr. Joe Beauchamp is the author of this blog and website. Categories
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