"Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life." Proverbs 4:34

Does it sound weird to you that we are talking of servicing the soul? It probably does for, this is not something we are accustomed to thinking about, let alone doing. We would rather service our generator, our car, our bikes, our washing machine, our Air conditioner to keep them in good working order and ultimately prolong their longevity than think of servicing our heart or our soul. The servicing most often consists of changing dirty oil, removing dust, cleaning some spare parts, identifying potential malfunctions and addressing them before they end up preventing the engine from running properly.

Like engines, our souls need servicing! It is indeed all the more critical as we need to check our heart from time to time to spot and willingly remove anything likely to reduce or prevent our connectivity with our creator. In fact, for example what good can envy, wrath, strife, hatred and their likes do to a Christian? Obviously, none, for it is evident that they will do that Christian more harm than contribute to anything good. In Hebrews 12:15, we are advised to _watch out that no poisonous root of bitterness grows up to trouble us_, while Ephesians 4:31 admonishes us to “get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice”

You will surely agree with me that those attitudes are self-destruction weapons. For example, hatred is but a one-edge sharp sword turned against oneself in retaliation of a wrong somebody else has presumably done to you. As for wrath, it makes you focus on the wrong thing, clouds your judgement and ultimately makes you sick. Envy, on its part, makes you belittle the good and great things God is doing in your life and shift your attention in an exaggerating way to what He is doing in other people’s lives. With envy, you lose every desire of being grateful to Him and spend your life complaining about everything.

Under no circumstance can a Christian enjoy a healthy relationship with his heavenly father while harboring in his/her heart those negative emotions and attitudes. (S)he needs first to flush them out and make room for the Holy Spirit. Such a negatively loaded heart can hardly be prayerful. Jesus coming back is soon. Don’t let anything, anyone distract you from what matters most. Make it a habit to service your soul as often as you can. God bless you!