Beyond Application

Proverbs 4:4 (KJV) He taught me also, and said unto me, Let thine heart retain my words: keep my commandments, and live.

My mind focused a bit on the phrase. “keep my commandments”.  The obvious meaning of this is to follow the rules.  We are to do the things that God has given us, or in this case, the father.  A good place to start.

Or maybe it’s not a good place to start but a good way to apply.  I think perhaps a side thinking on this is to treasure those commandments.  As I wrote that I wondered if the root meaning of the word “keep” was a word that we often see translated as “guard”.  So I went to my Blue Letter Bible, and did a little research and, yes, one of the definitions of this word is to “guard”.

So?  Before you apply, understand.  Before you act, build a foundation.  Guard the commandments as a part of who you are.  Internalize them.  Of course that means you still have to apply them, but do so knowing what you’re applying.