The Soil Test

What grows above the ground is determined by what is happening below it.

We have two dahlias sitting outside our front door. We bought them at the same time, from the same nursery. They get the same amount of sun, we water them the same, fertilize them the same, and they have received essentially the same care.

But they look completely different.

One is thriving. It has grown large and is overflowing with pink and white flowers, healthy leaves and new buds. The other one is struggling. It is much smaller, has only a few flowers, and many of the blooms have already died.

For a while I couldn't understand it. They were the same plants receiving the same water, fertilizer and care. Then I remembered the soil.

When I planted the first dahlia, I filled the pot with fresh soil. When I planted the second one, I used some old soil that had been sitting in our garage from the previous season. It looked like soil. It filled the pot like soil. It absorbed water like soil. But it had been depleted.

Eventually, what was happening beneath the surface became visible above it.

Guard Your Heart

Proverbs 4:23 says, “Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it.”

I love the priority Scripture gives us here: above all else. We spend a lot of time guarding things in business. We guard our finances, protect our reputation, manage our schedules, develop strategies and track results. Those things are important, but Scripture tells us there is something even more important to protect: our heart.

Why? Because everything else flows from it.

Just like the soil eventually determines the health of a plant, the condition of our heart eventually shows up in our leadership, relationships and work.

Depleted Soil Can Still Look Like Soil

The dangerous thing about depleted soil is that it still looks like soil. I think our hearts can be the same way.

We can keep showing up to work. We can lead the meeting, answer the emails, make the sale and hit the numbers. Everything can look fine on the outside while something is changing underneath the surface.

Maybe we don't have the patience we once had with people. Maybe disappointment has slowly become cynicism, or an offense we never dealt with has started turning into bitterness. Perhaps comparison has robbed some of our joy, or we have simply been pouring out for so long that we haven't allowed God to replenish what is inside us.

Those things rarely happen overnight. Like nutrients slowly disappearing from soil, the condition of our heart can change almost unnoticed. But eventually, what is happening below the surface begins to show up in the fruit.

What Are You Putting Into Your Soil?

I fertilized both plants, but the fertilizer couldn't compensate for the depleted soil. That challenged me because sometimes when things aren't going well, our instinct is simply to do more. We work harder, read another leadership book, create another strategy or just push through another week.

But sometimes the answer isn't doing more. Sometimes we need to look at the soil.

Guarding our heart isn't just about keeping bad things out. It is also about being intentional about what we put in. It means time in the bible, prayer before the pressure of the day begins, or worship on the drive to work. It means having friends who encourage us but will also tell us the truth. It means forgiving quickly instead of allowing an offense to take root. It means making room for rest, generosity and time in God's presence.

These things may never appear on a quarterly report, but they have a tremendous impact on the kind of leader, employee, business owner, spouse, parent and friend we become.

Check the Soil

Looking at those two flowers outside our house has given me a simple reminder. I spend a lot of my week thinking about what is happening above the soil: results, revenue, problems, opportunities, responsibilities and growth. But how much attention am I giving to what is happening underneath it?

Maybe that's a question worth asking ourselves: What is the condition of my heart right now?

Is there something that needs to be removed or something God wants to replenish? Is there an offense I need to let go of? Have I become cynical or discouraged without realizing it? Have I been so focused on producing fruit that I have neglected the soil producing it?

Proverbs doesn't tell us to guard our results; it tells us to guard our heart. Because eventually, what is happening in the soil will be revealed by what grows from it.

So perhaps before we spend more time trying to improve the fruit, we should take a moment to check the soil.

Guard your heart, tend the soil, and trust God with the growth.