Cover Your Mouth!

Even as temperatures in our area remain in the 90s, my thoughts are turning to cold and flu season. I'll be disinfecting door handles and light switches a couple times each day (Not a germaphobe, just Mom to a ten-year-old and our last daughter at home is a teacher). I'll be doubling down on Vitamin C and trying to get more rest. Removing our shoes at the door is a standard in our home, but making sure things like coats and backpacks don't wind up on tables, counters, and other surfaces where people eat will take some extra reminding. Cover your mouth! will replace summertime's Close the door! Like most folks, I will do whatever I can to prevent getting sick and keep sickness on the outside of our home. But Scripture warns us to be even more meticulous about what goes in our hearts.

Proverbs 4:23: Keep your heart with all diligence, for out of it spring the issues of life. In other words, Protect your heart; it's a matter of life and death! Think about this in terms of physical health. When we make poor food choices, develop habits like smoking, and fail to exercise, we put our heart at risk; an unhealthy heart can result in early death. A heart that is cared for is a strong, living heart, one that is conditioned to take the body well into old age. Spiritually, our hearts need protection. As Proverbs 4 continues, God through its author tells us how to "keep" our hearts:

Put away from you a deceitful mouth,
And put perverse lips far from you.
Let your eyes look straight ahead,
And your eyelids look right before you.
Ponder the path of your feet,
And let all your ways be established.
Do not turn to the right or the left;
Remove your foot from evil.

Let's ever so briefly break this down. Don't lie. Don't say bad things: curses, rude jokes, gossip, complaints. Keep your eyes on the prize: a life lived righteously. Take regular inventory of your choices, the steps you are taking, and be sure they align with God's directives. Do not stray from the path God has laid out for you.

Our behavior is (hopefully) a response to what our hearts are feeling toward the Lord; but it is our behavior that guards (or opens wide) our hearts to the corruption of worldly things --ideologies, desires, methods, goals, etc. Our life in Christ should be a cyclical thing: the more we desire God, the more our behavior imitates our Lord; the more our behavior imitates our Lord, the better insulated we become against the temptations of this world and the more we prefer the things of God. 

What's all this got to do with cold and flu season? Well, if we're not careful, we can bring all sorts of things into our homes, things that can make us sick. And if we're not diligently guarding our hearts in the ways Scripture commands us, we can expose ourselves to all sorts of things that will make us heart-sick. Our spiritual hearts will weaken the more pathogens we allow past the gate. At the cross, the hearts of all those who look to Jesus for salvation were made pure; as His disciples, we daily walk in agreement with that work when we imitate Him and submit to regular examination by the Holy Spirit. Like the precautions we will soon be reinstating to prevent debilitating (or just plain annoying) winter maladies throughout our family, guarding our hearts through the discipline of godly behavior, will keep heart-sickness from spreading. When we submit to the Holy Spirit's examination, when we regularly and critically assess ourselves, when we solicit the counsel and judgment (Yes, I said judgment) of godly brothers and sisters in Christ, and we correct our behavior, we protect those around us. If my temper has gotten out of hand, if those around me are starting to notice more complaining coming from my side of the car, if I'm skipping fellowship, the godly wisdom of others and my prompt correction can prevent further conflict with or hurt toward others. You know complaining can spread like cancer, right? Well, if I repent and correct my attitude, the spread can be prevented. And notice the first thing the author of Proverbs says with regard to protecting our heart: it's to change the way we speak! Words are the way we communicate what's in our hearts. If what is in our heart is good, others will be covered in encouragement and blessing. But if what is in our hearts is filth, we cover others in our filth every time we open our mouths. They, too, can become sick.

So, as the grocery store begins to stockpile Halloween candy, and we all start thinking about cold and flu prevention, let's not forget the good sense measures critical to all times of the year: keeping our hearts. Let's obey God and His Holy Word, take regular inventory of our thoughts and behaviors, review our goals and refocus on ones from which we may have strayed, and cover our mouth. A healthy heart is an important asset in any season.