It only takes a sentence to unravel a good day. One offhand comment. One jab at your choices. One raised eyebrow that makes you replay everything in your head. I experienced that today when a co-worker criticized me for something that didn’t need judgment. And suddenly, I was caught between wrestling with my conscience and wrestling with my pride.
Guarding the heart isn’t just about romance, it’s about protecting our inner world from words that were never meant to stay there. Proverbs 4:23 reminds us: “Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it.” Today, I was reminded that not every voice deserves a seat at my table.
The Sting of Words
I hadn’t expected it. Lunch was lighthearted, sharing stories about the Dodgers game, laughing over Taehyung’s first pitch, trading excitement about rings and souvenirs. Then came the critique. A comment that made me feel sidelined, as if my choice to accept money from a colleague was wrong. It wasn’t the words themselves, but the tone. The implication that I hadn’t thought things through.
It felt like someone dropped a pebble into my chest, and the ripples kept spreading. Words can sting more than silence. They echo in places they were never invited, planting seeds of doubt. I had to pause and remind myself: just because someone says it, doesn’t mean it’s truth.
Wrestling With Conscience
Part of me wanted to explain—list the reasons, provide context, justify my decision. Another part of me wanted to shut down and stew. But somewhere deeper, I heard God’s nudge: “Filter this.” Not every opinion is a mirror of my worth. Not every critique deserves space in my heart.
Author Henri Nouwen once wrote, “You have to let go of the need to be liked, the need to please, the need to prove yourself. Then you will be free to receive love without conditions.” Guarding my heart meant releasing the urge to fight my case. It meant choosing inner quiet over outward defense.
Choosing the Filter
By the end of the day, the sting had faded. But the lesson lingered: we can’t control people’s words, only the filters we build. Guarding the heart is not about walls of stone—it’s about windows with screens. The right things flow in: encouragement, wisdom, correction spoken in love. The harmful things? They get caught before they lodge deep.
Ephesians 4:29 urges us, “Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up.” Today reminded me that while I can’t control others’ tongues, I can protect the soil of my heart where God’s truth takes root.
🌟 Soul Insights
1. Criticism Reveals Vulnerabilities.
Words sting most where we’re already tender. Instead of seeing criticism only as an attack, we can let it show us the places God wants to strengthen. Sometimes what feels like an insult is actually a spotlight on an old bruise, reminding us that healing is still needed. When we bring those tender places to God, He doesn’t shame us—He steadies us, teaching us resilience. In time, the very spot that once stung can become a place of deeper strength and compassion for others.
2. Not Every Voice Belongs.
Discernment means recognizing which voices to weigh and which to release. Not every opinion deserves equal weight, and some words are better left at the door of your heart. The voice of God always builds, even when it convicts, because His correction carries love, not shame. Learning to tell the difference frees us from the noise and anchors us in truth.
3. Guarding is Active, Not Passive.
Protecting the heart isn’t hiding, it’s filtering. It’s choosing to stay open to love while closing the door on needless harm. It means allowing trust and joy to flow in without giving every passing word or glance the power to wound. True guarding of the heart is about cultivating wisdom, not building walls.
4. Self-Justification Can Be a Trap.
Explaining endlessly rarely heals. Sometimes the stronger choice is silence, the quiet confidence that God sees the truth. Defending ourselves at every turn can drain us, while silence leaves room for God to fight the battles we can’t. In that restraint, we discover a peace that arguments could never give.
5. Softness Is Still Strength.
Guarding your heart doesn’t mean hardening it. True strength is staying tender without being pierced by every arrow. It’s choosing resilience over bitterness, compassion over cynicism. A guarded heart still feels deeply, but it discerns what to let in and what to release.
🌙 Final Thoughts
Criticism will always come. People will always have opinions. What matters is not whether words are spoken but whether we let them stay. Guarding the heart is an act of stewardship—it’s protecting the sacred space where God whispers truth louder than any human voice.
🌱 Call to Action
This week, notice which words you’ve let sink in. Are they building you up or weighing you down? Write down three truths from scripture to replace the lies that criticism has planted. Guard your heart, not with walls, but with filters of grace.
© 2025 Amelie Chambord
Soul Path Insights 
Leave a comment