My 9-year-old son plays soccer, but unlike most players, he has no interest in scoring. He only wants to play defense, so he usually plays either goalie or defender. At his last game, his coach called him his team’s “defense hero.”
I love watching him track the ball and protect the goal. He isn’t afraid to run toward those players who are rushing toward the goal. He doesn’t only want to keep the ball from entering the goal, he tries to keep the ball from getting anywhere near it! He isn’t afraid for the ball to hit him or even to dive after the ball. He sees the importance of protecting the goal at all costs. He was the youngest kid on his team this year, but he wasn’t intimidated. He knew his job as a defender, and he did it, with confidence.
My oldest son played soccer years ago and was literally the kid who stood still and watched the butterflies. If he had been playing defense, every ball would have made it in the goal.
As I watched my “defense hero” protect his team’s goal, I couldn’t help but think about the importance of protecting our hearts.
Proverbs 4:23 says, “Guard your heart above all else, for it determines the course of your life.”
To “guard” means to be on watch, to protect, and to hopefully prevent something from happening. Guarding doesn’t happen by accident. It’s intentional, diligent, and purposeful. It means taking a stand and being proactive, instead of just approaching life lazily and assuming we’ll never deal with temptations, people, or situations that may lead us astray or bring us harm.
Just like my son focuses on protecting his team’s goal, we must actively focus on guarding our hearts. In our house, we call it, “guarding our gates.” We are careful about what we watch and listen to. But it’s so much more than that, too. Just like my son confidently runs towards the ball that’s approaching their goal and kicks it out of the way, we must be aware of the things that the enemy is throwing in our direction and run confidently toward those things to prevent them from getting anywhere near our hearts.
Protecting our hearts not only affects the course of our lives, it also affects the lives of our family and friends. What we choose to ignore and allow into our hearts will cost us something. Just like the opposing team scores a point when the soccer ball enters the goal, our enemy, Satan, gains ground when we aren’t diligent at guarding our hearts. When the enemy gains ground, it hurts everyone around us.
Instead of sitting around watching the butterflies, I pray that I will be a “defense hero” just like my soccer player. Not only do I want to protect my own heart and the course of my life, I want to protect those I love and future generations to come. I want to be proactive and unafraid, allowing nothing that isn’t pleasing to the Lord to get anywhere near my heart or my family!
I pray you’ll be the “defense hero” for yourself and your family, too!
This is an updated edition of a post originally published on Tori Shaw
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