“All I know most surely about morality and obligation I owe to football”,

Albert Camus

Guard your heart

Just 3 words but what a challenge. As we remember that in Hebrew thought the heart was not just an organ which pumped blood around the body. For them the heart was the seat of emotion and even the seat of thought.

We are to guard the control centre of our thoughts and actions. The picture is of placing a guard (soldier) in front of our heart to stop any evil or unhelpful thoughts getting in or out.

I don’t know about you, but I sometimes waste so much energy thinking about things that I should let go. I find myself having imaginary conversations with people who have annoyed me; putting them right. We need to be disciplined in giving up hurt, resentment and anger to God. We need to allow God to heal us, to enable us to forgive and move on rather than being eaten up by things from the past.

Tiger Woods’ former coach, Butch Harmon, says that he knows no player who could hit a bad shot and forget it and move on to the next shot as quickly as Tiger. We need to do that – not just in our sportslife.

In the modern world we seem to be bombarded by so many things which are unhelpful to our walk with God, let us take a decision to guard our hearts and seek only to let in and out thoughts which will help us live for God and by his standards in the world of sport.

And there is help available: And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:7

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