Guard Your Heart

Have you ever had one of those moments scrolling through your online platform of choice and all of the sudden, it happens?

It being a trigger.

Maybe you were simply minding your business and all of the sudden, your ex-spouse appears with a new boyfriend or girlfriend. Perhaps you asked a friend to hang out and after they declined, you saw via Instagram that their decline was due to a party or gathering that you weren’t invited to. The list could go on and on but the end result is the same—we’re crushed. We feel empty, left out, rejected, forgotten.

This world we live in where we’re constantly inundated with the emotions, actions, thoughts, and words of hundreds—if not thousands—of other people is a heavy load to bear, isn’t it? It’s exhausting. It’s mind-numbing when we really think about it, which is why most of us just…don’t.

With sincerity, you may believe that the world we live in is normal. You may think that the constant updates, texts, notifications, and invitations are what life in the 21st century is simply supposed to be.

But, could it be that there actually is such a thing as too many updates and notifications? What if such a thing as information overload exists?

I’m under the firm conviction that we were not meant to carry all of the emotional baggage of the thousands of people and stories we interact with on a daily basis. Truthfully, I believe it’s killing us from the inside-out.

It’s okay if you don’t believe me—I know a statement like that feels vastly counter-cultural. However, what if I told you that secular studies have shown that exposure to social media pages of individuals who’ve had a negative, sad, or hurtful experience on you can actually prolong the healing process of the hurt they caused you? This could be past relationships, broken friendships, broken families and more.

“I’m under the firm conviction that we were not meant to carry all of the emotional baggage of the thousands of people and stories we interact with on a daily basis. Truthfully, I believe it’s killing us from the inside-out.”

See, the truth is that we want to heal from the hurt, pain, and brokenness of life. No one wants to feel constantly under attack. Surely, we don’t to be constantly reminded of the trauma we’re attempting to overcome (divorce, abuse, addiction, etc.). Right? We want to heal! But we’re attempting to do so while constantly injecting ourselves with the very poison we swore we’d put away.

A lot of us can probably speak to the pain of always revisiting the Instagram page of a person that stirs up a lot of hurt inside of us.

What can we do? How—in a culture that says constant, worldwide connection must be the norm—do we heal and provide our souls the space and margin to grow in the way of Jesus?

I love the anecdote King Solomon provides in Proverbs 4:23. He says,

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

Here’s the singular question I believe every follower of Jesus must ask themselves on a daily basis: Am I guarding my heart?

Am I guarding my heart or am I allowing my heart, mind, and soul to be controlled and maniuplated by a “truth” other than God’s Word? Am I protecting my soul or have I sold it away to fear, lust, Netflix, or envy?

The world certainly isn’t advocating to create space for soul-work and introspection. The way of the world is, “more, more, MORE!” But the way of Jesus is rest, peace, joy, kindness, and love. To apprentice under Jesus in this day and age is to vehemently deny the false narratives the world (especially media) is seeking to convince us are pathways to our, “authentic” selves.

Many of us are taking on far more emotional baggage than we’re able to handle. My friends, we need to be cautious, we need to be cognizant of the hurt and the pain we are enduring every day as a result of the neglect we are showing towards our heart. It matters.

“To apprentice under Jesus in this day and age is to vehemently deny the false narratives the world (especially media) is seeking to convince us are pathways to our, “authentic” selves.”

To follow Jesus is to be a person who is in constant awareness of the state of our hearts. May it be so in us.

Be encouraged.