When we go to people for relationship advice, some advice that I have received is to "guard my heart." The Bible tells us in Proverbs 4:23, "Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it."

Now, this is pretty good relationship advice if you ask me. But I don't think that it needs to pertain to simply just romantic relationships. I think it can be for platonic relationships as well. They say those we spend the most time with are those who have the most influence on us. It is important in those instances to make sure that our hearts are being protected in all ways.

When I first heard "guard your heart" I struggled to understand what that meant.

I have come to realize that I think guarding our hearts is just being aware of what we are allowing into our lives and into our personal little bubbles. If you let a lot of negativity into your life, that's going to reflect from what comes out of your mouth. What you put in, you put out.

If you guard your heart against negative language, inappropriate tv/music, and toxic relationships, then you are more likely to have a more positive and uplifting outlook on things. Matthew 6:21 tells us, "For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also."

Whatever we treasure or are passionate about, that is what our heart is going to be in. We need to make sure those are things that are healthy to us and help us grow as a person.

Likewise, those relationships that we are passionate about our relationships that we need to make sure help encourage us and support us, rather than tearing us down. We need to be careful who we put our time and energy into. Just because you have a history with someone does not mean that you have to keep them in your life, especially if how they are treating you is degrading and rude.

You do NOT have to keep yourself in a toxic friendship just because you have memories together.

If someone is damaging to you, whether that be how they talk to you, themselves or others, or how they act or treat you, you are allowed to move on.

Guard your heart. Protect yourself. The heart is your most important organ. Everything that we do in our lives comes from it. Be gentle with it and make sure you are always keeping it safe.