Guard your heart above all else, for it is the source of life. Proverbs 4:23
The phrase “above all else” literally means “more than all guarding”, and to guard something is to make sure that it does not get away and that it is safe from attack. In Hebrew the “heart” is the location of knowledge and also the preconscious source of decisions. Your heart is who you are, the “true you” that directs all your thoughts and emotions. You can educate your heart (Proverbs 24:32)-consciously form and modify a worldview-after which decisions and actions flow (Proverbs 16:9, 23; Luke 6:45; Romans 10:10; 2 Corinthians 9:7). This education can be worldly, carried out by yourself, or godly, carried out by the Holy Spirit (Proverbs 2:6; Jeremiah 24:7; Ezekiel 36:26-27; Acts 16:14; Romans 2:29). The inclination of your “heart” directs your mortal “life” and determines whether you enter eternal life (Romans 3:22).