My youngest son’s black lab, Bodie, eats everything. I want to be precise here, because “everything” is a word people use loosely. They say their dog eats everything and they mean he chewed a shoe once.
Bodie has conducted a comprehensive, multi-species field study of our greater backyard ecosystem, finishing off specimens that other animals have, ah, already processed once. Bodie has no problem consuming these “leftovers.” Apparently, he believes in practicing recycling. He also eats anything left unattended at mouth level, which in our house has become less a warning and more a lifestyle change — for us, not Bodie.
Bodie does not hold grudges. What he does when he is blamed, yelled at, criticized for his outside eating habits, is leave the room when he knows you’re not a good fit for his happy, lab personality. No explanation. No grudge. He just goes to his happy place.
Sometimes that happy place is back in the yard to see if there are new entrées on the menu.
Your Heart Is Not a Public Park
Proverbs 4:23 says: “Guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it.”
Everything flows. Your joy. Your faith. Your ability to hear God clearly. Your capacity to love people well. It all flows from your heart. And whatever you allow in — and who you allow in — are the menu items in your backyard.
The people you allow closest to you? The voices you let speak into your life? That is food for your soul. The relationships you refuse to walk away from even when they drain your spirit — all of it gets consumed by your heart. From the heart, the mouth speaks (Luke 6:45). Which means what we see, hear, and consume matters enormously.
“This Heart Is Guarded by SimplySafe”
In the same way we guard our homes, we ought to guard our hearts.
1. Stop giving critics a front-row seat. There is a category of person who, no matter what you do, will find the flaw, name the fault, assign the blame, and somehow make your love for Jesus look like a personal affront to them. Jesus called them blind guides (Matthew 15:14). Paul called them dogs (Philippians 3:2 — yes, really). Limit their access. Revoke the VIP pass. Your heart is not a complaint department, and you are not required to keep the gate open just because someone keeps knocking.
2. Stop casting good seed where it gets trampled. Matthew 7:6. Don’t throw what is holy before those who will trample it. This is stewardship. This is treating God’s word as the treasure it is: seed planted in your heart. Seed has a destiny and your heart is the soil. Toxic soil struggles to grow anything worth harvesting, so protect it from Roundup relationships.
3. Audit who speaks into your life. The people closest to you are the most dangerous — not because they mean harm, but because the wound comes so close and quick. Careless words from trusted mouths plant weeds faster than any enemy could. Ask honestly: does this person’s voice make me more like Christ, or more like someone who wants you to strike back? There is a reason we call it “getting under my skin.” Words that wound are surgery — and not everyone who picks up the scalpel has your healing in mind.
4. Walk away without a closing argument. This is the advanced course. Bodie has a PhD in it. The goal is not to win the argument. The goal is to leave the encounter with your peace undisturbed and your heart still soft for the Kingdom. Jesus slipped away from crowds that wanted to use Him (John 6:15). He didn’t answer every accusation (Matthew 27:14). He walked through the middle of a mob undetected and kept moving (Luke 4:30). He was not reckless with what the Father had given Him.
Neither should you be.
Practical Steps Bodie Would Endorse
- Spend less time with people who consistently drain, criticize, blame, or doubt God’s goodness. This is Matthew 15:14. This is protecting your heart.
- Spend more time with people who strengthen your faith. Their proximity is a gift. Protect it like it is one.
- When you feel the urge to defend yourself to someone who has already decided, pause and ask: Is this a gate I should walk back through, or a door I should quietly let close?
- Pray for the critics. From a distance. Matthew 5:44 still applies; it simply does not require proximity. But pray. Jesus commanded it. It’s hard to hate those you’re asking God to bless.
- Re-yoke daily (Matthew 11:28-30). The exhaustion you feel after navigating toxic relationships is usually a sign you have been carrying something you were never meant to carry alone. Get back under the yoke. His burden is light. His shoulders are broad. He knows the weight of mocking and ridicule. Let him carry the weight.
If you find yourself struggling to walk away — unable to let the last word go, unable to close the gate, unable to stop rehearsing the argument at 2 a.m. — take a lesson from Bodie.
Lie down, curl up, and tuck your nose under your tail — or under your pillow with the door closed and white noise going.
(Proverbs 4:23, Matthew 15:14, Matthew 7:6, Matthew 11:28-30)