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I usually think we don’t need to be reminded as we carefully watch over our luggage. Money, passports, computers, phones, and all sort of valuable things in there… How would we leave those things unattended?

Even though every time we travel, we hear that reminder, so often you see people leaving their belongings unattended.

Today's message is a reminder not about our luggage, but something more personal, more important.

The reminder today is this:
"DO NOT LEAVE YOUR HEART UNATTENDED"

If we show this bible verse to a doctor, he will surely agree with it. Physically speaking, our heart is one of the most important organs. We are all familiar with its functions. These are a few interesting facts:

Your hear...
- was your first organ to form when you were in the womb.
- beats over 100,000 times per day.
- pumps 4,5 litres of blood per minute, so 6.000 litres per day.

We must take care of our physical hearts! But, what is the Bible referring to when it speaks about our heart?

The Bible often mentions the human's heart, and most of the times it refers to a place where....
- our thoughts are developed - Our intellect
- decisions are taken - Our will
- our feelings are located - Our feelings

That covers pretty much every aspect of us! In other words, it's all about who we are.

With all of that in mind, it is easy to see that what the Bible asks it's not too much, when it says:

ABOVE ALL ELSE guard your heart.

- Guard your intellect*
- Guard your will
- Guard your feelings

We all take care of the things we have (hopefully). But sometimes we have things carrying an extra value. Normally those things receive a special care and attention from us. For example: I play guitar, and I treat my guitar like a person! I make sure it is ok and that everything works as intended. Some people even name their guitars! Not me though.

I don't know what things in your life carry special value, but I want to ask you to think about them. Think about those things that you protect the most. Make a list!

The reason why we should take care of our heart becomes clear through this verse specially when read in different versions. The Bible is inviting us to think about what we think. Everything we do in life, is a consequence of who we are.

Remember: Nobody got hurt by overprotecting his own heart!

Even more, this verse also means that it is not what we do that defines who we are, rather it is who we are that defines what we do. I personally have learned that God cares much more about who I am, than what I do.

The Bible does not say "above all else, look at what you do". Sometimes, when people want to change something in their lives, they start by trying to change their habits (there are apps for it!). While that is a powerful thing, they are looking at the wrong source. The real change comes from the inside out, not the other way around.

On 3 December 1967, a large medical, nursing, and technical team led by the surgeon Christiaan Barnard performed the world’s first human to human heart transplant.

[...]

By far the most common form of human sacrifice in the 15th century Aztec empire was heart-extraction, which seems to have related to the Aztec belief that the heart was both the seat of the individual’s soul and a fragment of the sun’s heat.

https://academic.oup.com/eurheartj/article/38/46/3402/4706200

But heart transplant was first promised thousands of years ago...

Practical ideas to protect our heart

- To think about your heart more often!
- To pour out your heart in the presence of the Lord.
- To share what is in my heart with friends (good spiritual friends).
- To keep it away from anger, rancour, lack of forgiveness, destructive thoughts, etc.
- To keep it safe from getting dirty (from what we see, and from what we hear).
- To give it regular checkups...