Proverbs 4:23 (NIV)

²³ Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life.

Psychologist estimate that up to 77% of what we hear and see throughout our day is negative. Negative thought, negative attitude, negative words, negative drift will weaken your innermost being to the point where what God has designed to sustain your life does not function as it should. Faith in Christ and practicing the teachings of Jesus will set you on a path to function properly. I want to function properly.

I love action and adventure films. I love the feeling that a bit of adrenaline brings. It’s a great kick to my sympathetic nervous system. There’s nothing like an epinephrine rush. Epinephrine is another name for adrenaline, a natural god given substance that prepares our bodies to fight or run when faced with danger. But on another level I am personally getting tired of drinking in the violence that sometimes goes hand-in hand with that genre. I’m at the point where I just don’t need to handle one more gun play, murder or torture event. Do I really need to drink that in.

The spirit of God will make you aware of the things that affect us over time. The proper rule of thumb probably could be phrased: “If its negative, run from it.” It’s like being exposed to low doses, low levels of radiation. Over time exposure to negative words, events, frameworks damages the soul, even defiles the spirit.

It is possible to be aware of the thought patterns, ideas and concepts that bombard our innermost being like exposure to low doses of radiation. It is possible to be very selective about what we allow in and out of our heart. Guard your heart and be diligent about it.

The most dangerous time during commercial or even non commercial flight is take-off and landing. Landing an aircraft requires diligence. There is no room for error. Error means fatalities. That’s the attitude we need to have when it comes to our heart.

There is nothing magical or spooky about the act of guard or keeping ones heart. It is about being intentional with what we listen to, read, speak and watch.

When you have experienced a loss, one must be even more diligent in guarding your heart.

Emotional Stability - Definition

Let’s encapsulate a definition of the construct or idea of emotional stability in the bounds of an analogy that most of us who drive can identify with.

Imagine yourself seated behind the wheel of automobile on a sunny mid-afternoon in the fall. You are making your way through the Colorado Rockies. On this leg of the journey, the roadway enters a sharp 7% decent. You release your foot from the gas pedal ready to apply the brake in order to maintain your decent at the legal limit of 70.

Emotional stability is like the idea that when you are descending a hill or mountain you take your foot off the gas and use the brakes of the car to manage your speed.

In life, emotional stability is a decision that you make ahead of time to use brakes when faced with a decent or to give gas when faced with an uphill struggle.

From a Christian view point, emotional stability is built on peace. The living God provides us with a precious resource called peace and it is our responsibility to manifest that peace in our emotions at all time and everywhere.

Romans 5:1 (NIV) Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,