And in all the exhortations we have missed the most important thing of all. We have missed the heart of a woman.
This opening statement in the section “The Heart of a Woman”, says it all. It goes on to say;
“And that is not a wise thing to do, for as Scriptures tell us, the heart is central. “Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life” -Prov 4:23
I have read this verse many, many times. Every time I read it, I figured that it meant to make certain not to throw yourself in harms way, emotionally. But reading it in this context puts a more Godly meaning to it. “…guard your heart”, is not a suggestion or a question- it is a command. You could easily change the verse to this “Above all else, YOU guard YOUR heart, for it is the wellspring of YOUR life, and OTHERS lives.”
Now, I’m not one to add my two cents in on a scripture like that. In fact, usually it tends to annoy me when people do… but bear with me. If you read the verse as a command, things change. God has commanded us in this verse to guard our hearts, and I believe that it is not only for our good, but for the good of those around us. If our heart is the wellspring of life, than to not guard it would be to make our very existence vulnerable. Are we not to proclaim the truth with our every being? Are we not to live in Christ and be a witness to His love and faithfulness with our very lives, in so doing creating ourselves to be a light in the world? Perhaps this verse is also a command to not be selfish in what we subject our hearts to.
We are told by the world to imerse our hearts into the most fleeting of things. We are told that our love comes from men whom we “know” will cheat us, and use us. We are told to fill our hearts with the romantic fantasies in books and movies. Sometimes we are told to throw ourselves into alcohol, or drugs…sometimes even criminal activity.
If we are to guard our hearts, then we are to guard it from the things of this world that are not Godly. This puts a whole new meaning to that verse, for me. It has convicted me to work harder at keeping the bad things out, and filling my heart with what God wants.
Stasi says this:
“Think about it: God created you as a woman. “God created man in his own image…male and female he created them” (Gen. 1:27). Whatever it means to bear God’s image, you do so as a woman. Female. That’s how and where you bear His image.”
This makes so much sense. It allows us to take pride in bearing an image of God, as we were created. Not who we desperately try to create ourselves to become out of fear.
Perhaps women take trouble in bettering themselves far too much, when the real way to better ones self is in the obedience and love of their Savior. And the acceptance and gratefulness of being whom He has made them to be- for He does NOTHING without perfect reason.