All too often the newspapers tell us of some terrible crime that has been committed. What causes a person to do such a thing? While no man can know the heart of another, part of the answer must lie in the Bible truth: “For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he” (Proverbs 23:7). Any student of psychology knows that habitual thinking along a certain line will ultimately lead to action in harmony with that thinking. Read a person’s innermost thoughts and you can not only know what he will do but you can also know what his character is at that moment. When we were children we learned, “Sow a thought and reap an act, sow an act and reap a habit, sow a habit and reap a character.”
From this teaching of the scriptures, we learn that there is no sudden fall from virtue. There is no such thing as a person living an honest, upright, decent life for 10, 20, or 30 years and then suddenly falling. The Bible warns, “Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life” (Proverbs 4:23).
All of us would do well to give attention to our heart. We should keep away from evil and lustful thoughts. Our minds and hearts should be filled with purity and goodness. Looking at lewd pictures and listening to smutty stories will corrupt your mind and then your life.
You ask, “How can I keep my heart with all diligence?” “How can I maintain a high standard of thinking that will produce a good life?” The answer is not in some newly discovered psychological device or scheme. The problem and its solution are deeper than that. The answer is to open your heart and mind to Christ. Let him come in not only as the revelation of God but as the living presence and power of God in your life.