The Criticality of Guarding Your Heart

“Keep all my decrees and all my laws and follow them. I am the Lord.”

Leviticus 19:37

A precious scene emerges in the Exodus account. Just after God redeemed His covenantal people, Israel, from Egypt, a towering, mighty military juggernaut in its heyday, The Lord steadily infused the Hebrew community with a noble purpose: to know Him and make Him known. In order to help the Jewish congregation learn His holy expectations, God laid out a comprehensive list of laws and worship observances. Leviticus is one such text that captured the Lord’s righteous rules for His followers in the Old Testament era. Underlying this extensive directory of divine “dos” and “don’ts” is a pervasive warning, or perhaps a pleading, to guard the heart. As a latter biblical passage confirms, penned by the God-endowed luminous mind of Solomon, the heart is the wellspring of life, so it must be aptly and fiercely shielded from wicked doctrine and pursuits (Proverbs 4:23).       

Biblical passages testify to the fact that when people are casual about their spirituality they become careless about their morality. Consider the sins of Sodom and Gomorrah and the sins of Canaan. Both of the aforementioned ancient civilizations were corrupted with the abuse of God’s original design for sex, in that it was and is to be shared within the confines of a marital covenant between a husband and wife. The proliferation of sexually askew behavior can quickly become rampant in communities and nations. Lust and lewdness take a firm grip on their prey and discourage their victims from seeking physical or spiritual integrity. Clearly, God’s believers must not bend to the cultural or political pressure to minimize, circumvent, or ignore God’s great standards set forth in His Word. Modern society is just as susceptible to casting aside ethical decency as Sodom, Gomorrah, and Canaan were. These historical events sternly remind us that sinful minds produce spiritually-bankrupt lives. Therefore, we need to honor God in all our ways.     

    

Leviticus 19:37 reinforces the all-or-nothing approach to faith. God, the eternal, mighty Creator of all, does not deserve a flimsy, mediocre spirit of worship from humanity. He deserves a never-yielding, giving-Him-all-that-we-have dedication. God call’s to Israel in Leviticus 19:37 is a call that should resonate with believers today: follow God’s decrees, in heart and mind. Don’t just hear them, practice them. Don’t just say them, personify them. Don’t just read them, live them.

Mankind can never be satisfied with just a portion of God; we need all of Him. After all, partial obedience does not please God. The Lord longs for total obedience from His followers, a complete adherence to all of His principles and precepts. So often we rebel and halfheartedly offer praise to Him in a manner that does not bring glory to Him, rather than meeting God on His terms. Realize that the Lord charged the Israelites with being sanctified, or set apart. They were surrounded by worldly influences, but encouraged not to be influenced by it. They were specifically chosen to shine the light of God’s presence. The Lord gave them His Word as a heart-shield against the carnal vices facing them every day. Therefore, let God’s seekers savor His message for it strengthens the heart, even in the cruelest of places and darkest of nations.