The Wellspring Of Life

The purpose of the heart is, of course, to pump blood throughout the body, thus conveying oxygen and nutrients to the various muscles and organs of the body, as well as removing wastes. If the heart stops functioning, then the other organs of the body will begin to fail almost immediately, leading to death.

The Bible says that we must guard our hearts, for the heart is the wellspring of life.

"Above all else, guard your heart,

for it is the wellspring of life."

Proverbs 4:23 (NIV)

Filling our hearts with hatred, anger, resentment, jealousy, unforgiveness, negative thoughts, lust, or any other kind of evil, will slowly destroy us emotionally, mentally, and physically.

The Bible also says that a person who has good things stored in his/her heart will do good things in his/her life. Conversely, a person who has evil things stored in his/her heart will do evil things in his/her life. How are the contents of the heart revealed: by the words a person speaks.

"The good man brings good things

 out of the good stored up in his heart,

and the evil man brings evil things

 out of the evil stored up in his heart.

For out of the overflow of his heart his mouth speaks."

Luke 6:45 (NIV)

If you want to do good and live the life of our Lord Jesus Christ, you must first cleanse your heart from all evil. If you want to love more, you must get rid of hate for any person, even yourselves. If you want to control your temper, you must get rid of stored-up anger. If you want to be free of cynicism and sarcasm, you must get rid of resentment. If you want to have friends and be a friend to others, you must to get rid of jealousy. If you want to have healthy and long-lasting relationships, you must get rid of unforgiveness. If you want to end depression, you must get rid of all negative thoughts, and dwell solely on the truths of God's Word. If you want to find a godly wife or husband, or have a fulfilling marriage, you must get rid of lust, and love and desire only your partner.

To sum it all up, if we want to live lives that are full of happiness and health, that are pleasing to God, and that God can use, we need to store only good things in our hearts and get rid of all the evil things. We need to do this on a continual basis, praying regularly to God and asking Him to create in us a clean heart and to renew a right spirit within us.

"Create in me a clean heart, O God,

and renew a right spirit within me."

Psalm 51:10 (ESV)