"SAFEGUARD YOUR HEART"

JEHOVAH told the prophet Samuel:  "Not the way man sees is the way that God sees, because mere man sees what appears to the eyes; but as for Jehovah, he sees what the heart is." (1 Samuel 16:7) Also focusing attention on the figurative heart, the psalmist David sang:  "You  [Jehovah] have examined my heart, you made inspection by night, you have refined me; you will discover that I have not schemed." -Psalm 17:3. 

Yes, Jehovah looks into the heart to determine what we truly are.  (Proverbs 17:3) For good reason, then, King Solomon of ancient Israel counsels: "More than all else that is to be guarded, safeguard your heart, for out of it are the sources of life." (Proverbs 4:23) How may we safeguard our figurative heart?  Proverbs chapter 4 gives us the answer to that question. 

Listen to the Discipline of a Father

The 4th chapter of Proverbs begins with the words:  "Listen, O sons, to the discipline of a father and pay attention, so as to know understanding. For good instruction is what I certainly shall give you. My law does not leave." -Proverbs 4:1, 2. 

The counsel to youths is that they listen to the sound instruction of their godly parents, particularly to that of a father. He has the Scriptural responsibility to provide for the physical and spiritual needs of his family. (Deuteronomy 6:6, 7:1; 1 Timothy 5:8) Without such guidance, how much more difficult it is for a young person to reach maturity! Should not a child, therefore, respectfully accept the discipline of his father?  

What, though, of a youth who has no father to instruct him?  Eleven-year-old Jason, for example, became fatherless at the age of four. When a Christian elder asked him what was the most troubling aspect of his life, Jason quickly replied:  "I miss having a father. Sometimes it really gets me down."  Yet, comforting advice is available for youths lacking parental direction. Jason and others like him can seek and receive father advice from the elders and other mature ones in the Christian congregation. -James 1:27. 

Reminiscing about his own education Solomon continues:  "I proved to be a real son to my father, tender and the one one before my mother." (Proverbs 4:3)   The king evidently  remembered his upbringing with fondness. Being "a real son" who took  father advice to heart, young Solomon must have had a warm and close relationship with his father, David.   Moreover, Solomon was "the only one," or dearly beloved . How important it is for a child to grow up in a home where the atmosphere is warm and lines of communication with the parents are open! 

Next time: Acquire Wisdom and Understanding

From the Watchtower magazine, 2000