TEND THE GARDEN OF YOUR HEART

I once had a neighbor who stopped caring for his backyard. It had been a well landscaped yard with grass and manicured bushes. But for some reason, he decided to stop caring for it.

A couple of years passed and it became nothing but weeds. What is interesting is that I never saw him plant weeds. In fact, I have never seen anyone plant weeds. They just appear when yards are left unattended.

Proverbs 24 :30-31 cautions against the spiritual weeds of laziness and stupidity:  « I went past the field of a sluggard, past the vineyard of someone lacking sense ; thorns had come up everywhere, the ground was covered with weeds, and the stone wall was in ruin. »

Our lives can be compared to yards and gardens. If we do not take the time to care for them, weeds will grow. The garden of our heart may contain the most fertile of soils, but the danger is in what grows there.

Life has become extremely complex today. Social media as well as the availability of entertainment on mobile devices are just a few examples of technological advances that—if not handled correctly—can consume our time and energy, become major distractions and have a very negative influence in our lives.

We are in danger of becoming superficial and losing touch with God when the myriad of things that cloud our minds and lives take precedence over our relationship with Him.

It is very easy to become complacent and neglect our spiritual lives by failing to spend time in daily communion with God and prayer. And little by little, we stop tending our spiritual garden.

The principles of tending a garden offer a vivid picture of vigilantly keeping our hearts. Seasoned gardeners know that they need to prepare the soil, plant good seeds, nourish their garden and pull unwelcome weeds.

We also plant seeds in our hearts. The thoughts we entertain and the contents we absorb deposit seeds, for good or for bad. Philippians 4:8 encourages us to plant good seeds: “Whatever is true, whatever is honorable, just, pure, lovely, commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.”

However, If we allow negative things to take root in our hearts through ungodly influences, whether it is people, unhealthy activities which can become quickly addictive, like watching junk TV shows, violent movies or video games, pornography, etc., that will produce toxic weeds.

These weeds can be very varied, like unforgiveness, bitterness, selfishness, greed, jealousy, anger, and many more…  We don't intentionally cultivate these negative traits, but if we don't strive to stay close to God, monitor our activities, and guard our thoughts and emotions, these weeds will take root and flourish.

God’s Word warns us, “Keep your heart with all vigilance, for from it flow the springs of life.” (Prov. 4:23)

So stir yourself up ! Your are the gardener of your life, don’t let it be overgrown with weeds. Check your heart and examine which activities take up the most of your time and energy in your day, and walk closely to God.

Ultimately, we will all have to take responsibility for our own garden before God.