"Guarding your heart" is a bad solution to a real problem.
If the Fall had never happened, we would have no reason to guard our hearts. We could trust our hearts to be completely taken care of by everyone because it would be perfect. But, the Fall is a reality. The problem is that we don't take care of each other's hearts because of sin - we're insecure, prideful, selfish, jealous, etc. We hurt each other. The best solution would be for everyone to take care of each other's hearts perfectly, but we cannot. Sin keeps us from that. So the only other solution is to "guard our heart" against others so that they can't destroy us. The only person we can trust fully is the Lord. He takes care of our hearts completely, although sometimes that's hard to see --- because sin gets in the way. Think about it - if we loved each other perfectly, boundaries wouldn't need to exist. We could keep our hearts completely open. Although it makes me question would we still love God the most. But His glory so far outweighs ours, even when we will be perfect in Heaven, that I don't think that would be a problem. He is our Savior. So yes, guarding your heart sucks, but I don't know what other solution there is in a world of heartache.
This is a short post, but I want to hear your thoughts ... ?
4 comments:
This made me think of our man Lewis...
“To love at all is to be vulnerable. Love anything, and your heart will certainly be wrung and possibly broken. If you want to make sure of keeping it intact, you must give your heart to no one, not even to an animal. Wrap it carefully round with hobbies and little luxuries; avoid all entanglements; lock it up safe in the casket or coffin of your selfishness. But in that casket- safe, dark, motionless, airless--it will change. It will not be broken; it will become unbreakable, impenetrable, irredeemable.”
I say...either way we get hurt. That comes with loving something or someone enough. And like you said, because we are fallen - hurt and love are connected this side of glory. That's not to say don't guard your heart. But I would be inclined to say love wisely. And trust that the Lord will guard it for you. And yeah...you'll get hurt. But that's better than not giving of yourself. yepp...
Rachael Mirabella - we are for sure able to cut one another to pieces just with words, glances or a myriad of other tricks in our arsenals. I wonder what Jesus' strategy was. It would seem he trusted himself not to anyone because he knew what was in man... but yet it didn't stop him from loving and being hurt. Where is wisdom? If we don't trust ourselves to others (some people at least), we end up hurting them too. It would seem that there's a balance somewhere and that it's found in love. Not clingy, needy love, but in love that looks to other's best first and trusts our hearts to God in the process. I still have a long way to go. Can't WAIT to see you.
maybe the more we love vulnerably and get hurt, the more we'll love selflessly and really only look to Jesus to be loved back? sigh* why does only being loved by Jesus seem like a bad thing?
it makes me think of Love of a Jealous Kind by jars of clay
"Think about it - if we loved each other perfectly, boundaries wouldn't need to exist. We could keep our hearts completely open. Although it makes me question would we still love God the most."
Really liked the note, just wanted to respond to the concept in the last sentence here – “would we still love God the most.” We have to do a little ground work - What is love? To truly love someone is to seek their highest good. For every person, without exception - the highest good is a relationship with the Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. To say it another way - to love someone is to give them what will make them the happiest. In turn, the essence of our love for one another is… the aim to make much of Jesus in the hearts of those we love. So, as our love for one another increases we wouldn’t encounter a loss of love for God - quite the opposite. If "we loved each other perfectly," we would be doing so by helping one another to more clearly behold the Lamb of God. If it's true that loving people means giving them what will make them the happiest, namely, Jesus – then loving one another perfectly, means perfectly drawing attention to Him with all of our being. If our love was mutually perfect – as it will be in heaven – you will love God more because of my unique love for you and I will love God more because of your unique love for me. My point – If our hearts were completely open, they would belong to Jesus all the more.
“You have loved righteousness and hated wickedness; therefore God, your God, has anointed you with the oil of gladness beyond your companions" (Heb 1:9).
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