Summary of Article
The article, “Guard Your Heart” by Pastor
Aaron Gray addresses the issue of guarding one’s heart and what that
practically looks like. He begins
by defining this action by the act of one “paying
careful attention to thoughts, emotions, desires, and choices (emphasis
added).” He supplements this
definition by exploring what the bible says concerning the heart. In Matthew 12:34 and in John 1:12-13,
the respectable authors state that one’s words and choices flow out of this
part of each of us. In Ezekiel
36:26, Jesus tells us that He saves our hearts.
Gray
then states two possible traps one may find him or herself in when it comes to
this sensitive area of guarding one’s heart. There are two extremes; self-protection or carelessness that
one. He concludes with a reassuring
statement of truth stating that Jesus does not leave us all alone to do the
hard work. He guards our hearts as
it states in Philippians 4:7
How this relates to me
I think that you guard your heart by
guarding your mind. Thoughts that
you dwell on may be expressed through actions, which become habits, which lead
to developing a character that describes a lifestyle. The old saying is true in that “you are what you eat,” meaning that you become what you take in during your life. Although one cannot control what
thoughts enter one’s mind, he or she can control how long he or she dwells or
expels it. The bible describes our
heart in a variety of ways. It
says that the Lord knocks at our heart’s door and that the devil crouches as a
lion. (Revelation 3:20). Therefore there is always someone trying
to occupy your heart, meaning there is no neutrality. (1 Corinthians 10:21) 1 John 2:3-6 tells us how to guard the
door to our heart by walking in the light and obeying our Creator and
Lord.
Through
contemplation, I thought to myself why would someone not guard his or her
heart. Three reasons come to mind,
the person may think he or she is not worth it, not worthy, or oblivious of the ramifications of not guarding one's heart. First, one may think that taking the
necessary precautions are simply not worth the effort in the end. They have a relative concept of
immediate happiness rather than sustained joy. Second, they may not believe the truth that he or she is
worthy; that his or her heart is worth being protected, guarded, and
saved. Someone may be so wounded
that they loose their self-worth.
Finally, someone may just not know how or why to guard their heart and
are therefore not taking proactive steps to carefully protect such a precious
part of him or herself.
The
way to put this into action is to search out our Lord’s heart and by getting
into His truth; we will be able to guard our hearts with Jesus Christ.
How this relates to counseling
When
one enters into a counseling session, he or she is beginning a relationship with
another person who has hurts and feelings all the same. The client may be very vulnerable with
the counselor that may present itself with a possibly compromising situation. A client must be aware of his or her
surroundings and be conscientious of how his or her actions may be taken by the
client. A counselor must guard his or her heart in order to maintain a balance between professionalism and sincere genuine concern.
References
Article:
Cover Picture:
Facebook
Covers (2012). [photo] Retrieved from
http://www.funscrape.com/Cover/498/Heart+In+Hands.html.
You bring up a great point! When I was thinking about guarding your heart I was thinking about it soley from the perspective of me as a counselor advising someone else to do it. Your conclusion brought to my mind the potential dual relationships we will have to face as counselors and how we need to be extra cautious as counseling is a vulnerable activity where strong feelings can develop. It is so important that we as counselors have strong accountability in our lives so to guard against this. Many counselors who fall into a dual relationship which ends up causing hurt more than likely did not decide one day to do it, but the idea crept up on them and slowly penetrated their defenses. Great post!
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