Discernment Guards Your Heart

Something is happening in your home. There’s no alarm ringing or reason for your concern. But what’s happening is sewer water is seeping through a floor drain in the basement. Hours later you smell a foul odor. You discover the source of the odor and take steps to stop the seepage to restore what shelters you from the outside world—your home.        

Isn’t our heart like this home?  Can we be unaware of toxic seepage entering our heart?

There’s no alarm or reason for concern. But something is happening in our heart. Feelings of resentment and anger are surfacing. A sense of unease is our ever-present companion. Our love grows cold and God feels distant.   

Like the foul odor in the home, you’ll find the foul odor of the world replacing the fragrance of the Spirit in your heart. That’s when you’ll know toxic seepage is entering your heart.

How can we identify the source of this toxic seepage?  

Discernment guards your heart.

“Above all else, guard your heart for it is the wellspring of life.” – Proverbs 4:23

The Book of Proverbs teach us to seek Wisdom. And what better teaching then the importance of guarding our heart because it’s the wellspring of our life in Christ.  If our heart is polluted by the world—we don’t reflect Christ.

A way to become polluted by the world is by not protecting our hearts from toxic relationships. That’s why we’re called to seek Wisdom so discernment can guard our heart.

Discernment guards your heart from toxic relationships.

We need to remember we aren’t fighting flesh and blood. What we’re fighting is bigger than us, but not bigger than our God.

That’s why we rely on the Holy Spirit for discernment in our relationships. It’s way too easy to be distracted by the hectic pace of life or the attractive and non-threatening appearance of the flesh and blood used by the prince of this world. Trusting yourself will cause you to stumble.

But the good thing is you’ll become aware of your lack of discernment when you smell the foul odor of the world in your heart. Be aware. Pray. Discernment guards your heart! 

What Application Looks Like

Grace, a born-again Christian, experienced the rekindling of an estranged relationship with a sibling to care for an aging parent. She thought that perhaps God’s hand was opening a door to provide an opportunity to witness to this unbelieving sibling as they both grew up under this parent’s emotional abuse.

But Grace later discovered the opened door wasn’t to witness to her sibling—the door provided a way for toxins to seep into her heart through the words of her sibling.

Grace was distracted by care giving activities and unaware of what was happening. But the words of the sibling flowed non-stop and were usually delivered via text. In a face-to-face conversation it’s easier to set boundaries to stop the toxic seepage—but text messages made this harder and what is read can’t be screened and flows into the heart.

Grace’s heart of forgiveness and desire to honor her mother and therefore honor God was being replaced by resentment and anger. The relentless flow of the sibling’s reminders of the parent’s abuse created a foul odor that Grace finally became aware of.

A prayer for discernment in this situation revealed the source of the odor and Grace was able to take steps to stop the toxic seepage. Her heart was flushed of the toxins of that relationship and the fragrance of the fruit of the Spirit took over.

Discernment guards your heart from toxic relationships.

Discernment stops the toxic seepage and restores our heart. If it’s a relationship with a sister or brother in Christ ask Spirit, “How can I respond like Jesus?” If it’s a relationship with a “child of the world” put them on the “watch list” and pray for them and you because you have much to lose. The fragrance of the fruit of the Spirit is what makes us different.