Guard It or Lose It

SPEAKER_00 0:01

Gentlemen, every day is a battle. A battle for your faith, your family, and your purpose. The men who stand strong don't prepare when the battle arrives. They prepare before it begins. Welcome to the men's morning devotional. Let's get into God's word. It's time to man up.

Chris Alessi 0:26

Good morning and welcome back to the Men's Morning Devotional. My name is Chris Alesi, and I'm glad you are here for another week as we dive into Proverbs. We're going to look at Proverbs chapter seven, but before we do, I just want to say we've been getting some great feedback on this podcast. Many of you are sharing it with other men, and we want to encourage you to keep doing that. Hopefully, you're enjoying the wisdom coming from the book of Proverbs and from our family. And hopefully you can send it out to a couple of men that absolutely need it. Now, on this Monday, to get us started in Proverbs chapter 7, uh, it actually shares a lot of similarities to the truth that we would have read back in uh Proverbs 2 on the last week that I hosted. But we've got something fresh today. Here's our man-up moment. What you don't guard, you will lose. Solomon is back in Proverbs chapter 7 with another warning, another portrait of wisdom, another man standing at a crossroads. But I think we can see something in the opening verses of chapter 7 that makes this week special on its own. It's a single word that appears three times in the first two verses. That word is keep. Look at this, Proverbs 7, verse 1. My son, keep my words and treasure up my commandments with you. Keep my commandments and live. Keep my teaching as the apple of your eye. Three times in two verses, Solomon says, keep. That's not on accident. That word in the original language meant to guard, to watch over, to protect. It's the word used for a soldier, standing watch. Not passive holding, but active guarding. Solomon isn't asking his son to simply remember the wisdom he shared. He's calling him to stand over it, like it's something worth defending. Most men treat wisdom like a resource they consume. A podcast like this one that they listen to, a sermon they nod along with, a verse they read, agree with, and then think of who else needs to hear that verse. But Solomon is describing something closer to how a man would guard his home, his family, or his reputation. You know, when you first move into your house, it's hard to go to sleep unless you know the door is locked, the alarm is on, all the windows are closed. We don't just kind of casually guard our home or uh occasionally guard it. We guard the things that matter to us constantly with everything we have because we understand what's at stake if we let our guard down. Now, after all that, Solomon adds the most striking phrase. He tells his son and tells us, keep my teaching as the apple of your eye. Now, the apple of your eye is actually the most sensitive, protected part of your body. You actually have an instinct to defend your eye without thinking. Solomon says that's how a man should relate to wisdom, not just casually, but with this reflexive protection of something he cannot afford to lose. So here's our man-up question to set us up for the week, but to have a really good Monday as well. What are you actually guarding in your life right now? Because whatever you protect most reveals what you value most. The principled man guards wisdom like his life depends on it. Because according to Solomon, and we'll see it the rest of this week, it kind of does. So here's your man-up challenge. Take some inventory today. What are you actively guarding in your life? Your marriage, your mind, your integrity, your time with God, or is it your comfort or your pride? The question is, what have you left unguarded that needs your attention? And maybe name one thing you've been passive about and decide today to become intentionally guarding it. Let's pray. Father, we want to be men who keep your words, not casually, but like a guard. Show us where we've left our guard down. Give us the instinct to protect what matters. We choose today to keep your commandments as the apple of our eye. In Jesus' name, amen.

SPEAKER_00 4:54

All right, gentlemen, you've heard God's word. Now go live it. Lead well, stand strong, honor God in everything you do. Share this devotional with another brother. Remember, every day is another opportunity to man up.