The Hebrew word for “heart” may be more familiar to us than we think. The two symbols you see at the bottom right in the picture represent our modern L (representing a shepherd’s staff) and V (representing house). Put them together and you get LV (love). In ancient times, the head of house would use his staff to guide his friends into his house or use the staff as a weapon to drive away his enemies.
It is not always clear to the heart if the person, thing, or idea that presents itself is a friend or a foe. “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?” (Jeremiah 17:9) The reason we are warned in the Bible to stand watch over our hearts is because the heart is incapable of discernment. The heart functions as the deciding faculty within us that springs us to into action (or inaction) In order for the heart to serve us well, it must be governed through the knowledge of truth.
