Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it.

~Proverbs 4:23 NIV

Sienna, my Yorkshire Terrier, had a growing lump. Thinking it was an infected sebaceous cyst, which is common in older dogs, I made an appointment with the veterinarian to check it. At the clinic, they took Sienna into the examination room to ascertain what they were dealing with. A short time later, the technician appeared with Sienna and a sealed glass test tube. Inside the tube was a Botfly larva, a little over half an inch long.

The Botfly

A Botfly had planted an egg on Sienna, where she must have had a tiny nick in her skin. The egg hatched and burrowed further under her skin, where it grew, making Sienna uncomfortable as it ate into her flesh and moved about. Left untreated, the larva would have continued to grow until it burst through her skin–a painful process that often results in infection or abscess.

This Botfly episode reminded me of today’s Scripture and the importance of guarding our hearts, allowing only what is good and right to dwell within, that which builds us up, for all else corrupts and infects our way of life.

What comes out of a man is what makes him unclean. For from within, out of men’s hearts, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, greed, malice, deceit, lewdness, envy, slander, arrogance, and folly.  All these evils come from inside and make a man unclean.

~Mark 7:20-23 NIV

We must also take seriously Solomon’s words of wisdom to guard our hearts, for everything within them eventually flows out of them—godliness and ungodliness. But how do we guard our hearts? We guard them by paying attention to what we hear, watch, read, and think about. Our actions come from how we think. When we fill our minds with ungodly influences, we also act ungodly. Yet, when our hearts or minds are filled with the things of God, we act godly.

The Lesson

Paul tells us to guard our hearts today by filling them not with the ungodly actions, thoughts, and words of this world but with whatever is true, noble, right, pure, lovely, and admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things (Philippians 4:8 NIV). The choice is ours.

Take steps today to ensure you only let godliness into your heart. Choose wisely.

Thank you, Lord Jesus, for giving me the privilege of knowing and meditating upon Your Word so that my heart might be filled with all good things that direct the pathways of my life. In your name, I pray, amen.

 

Genre: Non-fiction

Copyright 2024: The Botfly: Lynne Phipps: All Rights Reserved