Proverbs 4:23-27
23 Watch over your heart with all diligence,
For from it flow the springs of life.
24 Rid yourself of a deceitful mouth
And keep devious speech far from you.
25 Let your eyes look directly ahead
And let your gaze be fixed straight in front of you.
26 Watch the path of your feet,
And all your ways will be established.
27 Do not turn to the right or to the left;
Turn your foot from evil.
In today's world, it has become all too easy to let fly with whatever words come to the front of our minds. We get angry, we get sad, we get indignant and we feel the need to express it in such a way that others feel our emotion. As a society we have lost the ability to deal with our own emotions internally, and as such, we feel that the only expression of them that is valid anymore is one where other people are the ones dealing with them.
Now, some of you are going to take that first paragraph to mean that I intend to chastise people for speaking wrongly, and yes, that needs to happen from time to time, but I want to look deeper than that, to the "heart" of the matter, pun intended.
In Matthew 15:11, Christ says that it is not what goes into a man's mouth that defiles him, but rather that which springs forth from it. Why? Because what comes out of your mouth, particularly when you are emotional, is what is stored up in your heart. It is like wringing a sponge. When it is full of vinegar, and you squeeze it, you cannot expect fresh water to come out of it. So it is with our heart.
My challenge for you today is to look deeper than just your behavior. I want you to ask yourself, "why is this my behavior at all?" "Why do I do this?" "Why do I say this?" "What is it within me that brings this out of me?"
When you begin to get your hands around those answers, you will not have to guard your mouth, for the things that will come from it will reflect a clean and pure heart.
Contrary to what some preachers will say, speaking from your heart is not wrong, nor is it evil, if you have specifically stored up the Word of God and His love in it. If that is what you are full of, then when the situation calls for it, that is what will come out.
So the question before us today is not "how will we speak and react when bad things happen," but rather, "what am I filling myself with daily so that when bad things happen, goodness will pour forth."
Be blessed!
Comments