A world-class athlete, in full command of his skill and to all outward appearances in excellent physical condition, suddenly collapsed during a practice session and died. The athlete was Sergei Grinkov, a two-time
Olympic gold medalist ice skater, whose career was cut short just as it started to blossom—when he was only 28 years old. What a tragedy! The cause? A heart attack. It was said that his death was totally unexpected because there was no sign of any kind to indicate that he was suffering from heart disease. Yet, examiners found that he had an enlarged heart and severely blocked coronary arteries.
WHILE it may appear that many heart attacks occur without warning, medical authorities say that it is rarely the case. The truth is that such tell-tale signs and contributing factors as breathlessness, overweight, and chest pains are often ignored. As a result, even if death does not claim them as victims at the time of their heart attack, many become severely handicapped for the rest of their lives.
The consensus of medical opinion today is that prevention of a heart attack requires constant vigilance in one’s diet and life-style and regular medical checkups. Such measures, along with a genuine willingness to make changes where necessary, will go a long way in sparing one the tragic effects of a heart attack.
There is, however, another aspect of our heart that merits even more attention. “More than all else that is to be guarded, safeguard your heart,” the Bible warns us, “for out of it are the sources of life.” (Proverbs 4:23)
This scripture, of course, is referring principally to the figurative heart. Vigilance is needed to safeguard our physical heart, but it is even more important to remain on the alert if we want to protect our figurative heart against diseases that can lead to spiritual death.
Anatomy of a Figurative Heart Attack
As with physical heart disease, one of the surest ways to prevent a heart attack spiritually speaking is to learn of its causes and then take steps to do something about them. So let us consider some of the basic factors that contribute to problems of the heart—literal and figurative.
Diet. It is generally accepted that junk food, though appealing to the palate, offers little or no health benefits.
Similarly, mental junk food is readily available and tantalizing to the senses, but it is detrimental to one’s spiritual health. Cleverly marketed in the media is a profusion of material that features illicit sex and drugs, violence, and the occult. Feeding one’s mind on such a diet is deadly to the figurative heart. God’s Word warns: “Everything in the world—the desire of the flesh and the desire of the eyes and the showy display of one’s means of life—does not originate with the Father, but originates with the world. Furthermore, the world is passing away and so is its desire, but he that does the will of God remains forever.”—1 John 2:16, 17.
Healthful foods, like fruits and green vegetables, offer little appeal to a junk-food addict. Likewise, wholesome and solid spiritual food may have little appeal to a person who has become accustomed to feeding his mind and heart on worldly fare. For a time, he may subsist on the “milk” of God’s Word. (Hebrews 5:13)
In the long run, he does not develop the spiritual maturity needed to shoulder his basic spiritual responsibilities in the Christian congregation and ministry. (Matthew 24:14; 28:19; Hebrews 10:24, 25) Some in that situation have allowed their spiritual strength to dwindle to such a point that they become inactive, or nonpracticing, Witnesses!
Another danger is that outward appearance can be deceptive. Perfunctory performance of Christian duties may mask the growing frailty of a figurative heart that is weakened by secret indulgence in materialistic philosophies or entertainment that features immorality, violence, or the occult. Such a faulty spiritual diet may appear to have little effect on one’s spirituality, but it could paralyze the figurative heart the way a poor diet can harden the arteries and damage the literal heart. Jesus warned against allowing improper desires to enter one’s heart. He said: “Everyone that keeps on looking at a woman so as to have a passion for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart.” (Matthew 5:28) Yes, a poor spiritual diet can lead to a spiritual heart attack. Yet, there are further concerns.
Exercise. It is well-known that a sedentary life-style can contribute to physical heart attacks. Similarly, a spiritually sedentary life-style can have serious consequences. For example, a person may have some share in the Christian ministry but may limit this to what might be called the comfort zone, putting forth little or no effort to become “a workman with nothing to be ashamed of, handling the word of the truth aright.” (2 Timothy 2:15) Or one may attend some Christian meetings but may do little to prepare for and participate in them.
There may be no spiritual goals or no appetite or enthusiasm for spiritual things. The lack of spiritual exercise eventually weakens, even deadens, what faith he might once have had. (James 2:26) The apostle Paul noted this danger when writing to Hebrew Christians, some of whom apparently had fallen into such a sedentary spiritual life-style. Notice how he warned of the possible hardening effect this could have on their spirituality.
“Beware, brothers, for fear there should ever develop in any one of you a wicked heart lacking faith by drawing away from the living God; but keep on exhorting one another each day, as long as it may be called ‘Today,’ for fear any one of you should become hardened by the deceptive power of sin.”—Hebrews 3:12, 13.
Stress. Yet another major cause of physical heart attacks is excessive stress. Similarly, stress, or “anxieties of life,” can easily prove fatal to the figurative heart, even causing the victim to cease serving God entirely. Timely is Jesus’ warning in this regard: “Pay attention to yourselves that your hearts never become weighed down with overeating and heavy drinking and anxieties of life, and suddenly that day be instantly upon you as a snare.” (Luke 21:34, 35) Stress can also be brought to bear on our figurative heart if we agonize over a secret sin for a prolonged period of time. King David learned from experience the pain associated with such harmful stress when he said: “There is no peace in my bones on account of my sin. For my own errors have passed over my head; like a heavy load they are too heavy for me.”—Psalm 38:3, 4.
Overconfidence. Many victims of a heart attack were very confident about their state of health just prior to their heart attack. Often, checkups or medical examinations were brushed off or even laughed off as completely unnecessary. Similarly, some may feel that since they have been Christians for a while, nothing could possibly happen to them. They may neglect submitting themselves to spiritual checkups or self-examination until disaster strikes. It is vital to keep in mind the good counsel against overconfidence as given by the apostle Paul: “Let him that thinks he is standing beware that he does not fall.” The course of wisdom is to acknowledge our imperfect nature and to examine ourselves spiritually from time to time.—1 Corinthians 10:12; Proverbs 28:14.
Do Not Ignore Warning Signs
It is with good reason that the Scriptures give high priority to the condition of the figurative heart. At Jeremiah 17:9, 10, we read: “The heart is more treacherous than anything else and is desperate. Who can know it? I, Jehovah, am searching the heart, examining the kidneys, even to give to each one according to his ways, according to the fruitage of his dealings.” But besides examining our heart, Jehovah also makes loving provision to help us in making the needed self-examination.
Through “the faithful and discreet slave,” we are given timely reminders. (Matthew 24:45) For example, one of the chief ways in which our figurative heart could deceive us is by causing us to indulge in worldly fantasies.
These are unrealistic imaginations, daydreams, idle mind wanderings. Such can become very harmful, especially if they arouse unclean thoughts. Hence, we must reject them completely. If we hate lawlessness as Jesus did, we will guard our heart against indulging in worldly fantasies.—Hebrews 1:8, 9.
Additionally, we have the help of loving elders in the Christian congregation. While the concern of others is certainly appreciated, the responsibility to take care of our figurative heart finally rests with each one of us personally. It is up to us individually to “make sure of all things” and to ‘keep testing whether we are in the faith.’—1 Thessalonians 5:21; 2 Corinthians 13:5.
Safeguard the Heart
The Bible principle that “whatever a man is sowing, this he will also reap” applies to the health of our figurative heart as well. (Galatians 6:7) Often, what appears to be a sudden spiritual disaster turns out to have been the result of a long, secret history of indulgence in such spiritually damaging pursuits as viewing pornography, being excessively concerned with material things, or striving for prominence or power.
To protect the heart, therefore, it is essential to watch one’s spiritual diet. Nourish the mind and heart by feeding on the Word of God. Shun the mental junk food that is so readily available and so appealing to the flesh but that only results in making the figurative heart insensitive. The psalmist cautions with a fitting—and medically sound—analogy: “Their heart has become unfeeling just like fat.”—Psalm 119:70.
If there are long-standing secret faults, try hard to eradicate them lest they clog up your figurative arteries. If the world begins to look attractive and seems to be offering much in the way of pleasure and enjoyment, meditate on the wise counsel offered by the apostle Paul. He wrote: “This I say, brothers, the time left is reduced. Henceforth let those . . . making use of the world [be] as those not using it to the full; for the scene of this world is changing.” (1 Corinthians 7:29-31) And, if material riches should start to beckon, take to heart Job’s words: “If I have put gold as my confidence, or to gold I have said, ‘You are my trust!’ that too would be an error for attention by the justices, for I should have denied the true God above.”—Job 31:24, 28; Psalm 62:10; 1 Timothy 6:9, 10.
Pointing to the seriousness of habitually ignoring Bible-based counsel, the Bible warns: “A man repeatedly reproved but making his neck hard will suddenly be broken, and that without healing.” (Proverbs 29:1) On the contrary, by taking good care of our figurative heart, we can experience the pleasure and the peace of mind that come from living a simple, uncluttered life. This has always been the recommended way of true Christianity. The apostle Paul was inspired to write: “To be sure, it is a means of great gain, this godly devotion along with self-sufficiency. For we have brought nothing into the world, and neither can we carry anything out. So, having sustenance and covering, we shall be content with these things.”—1 Timothy 6:6-8.
Yes, training and exercising ourselves in the way of godly devotion will ensure that we have a healthy and strong figurative heart. By keeping a close watch on our spiritual diet, we will allow no room for this world’s destructive ways and thinking to cause any harm or damage to our spirituality. Above all, by accepting
Jehovah’s provisions through his organization, may we regularly submit ourselves to checkups of our figurative heart. Diligently doing so will go a long way toward avoiding the sad consequences of a spiritual heart attack.
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