What comes out
by Pastor Reid Matthias
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The things that come out of a person’s mouth come from the heart and these defile them (Matthew 15:11).
Isn’t it interesting, that when I read Jesus’ words, I think to myself, ‘Yeah, but what about the coronavirus?’
Jesus was responding to the Pharisees and the Scribes who seemed intent on making sure that the outward parts of bodies are clean, but Jesus could quite literally see to the ‘heart’ of their argument. It is one thing to be clean on the outside, but it is a more difficult thing to be clean on the inside.
Years ago, my brother Ryan worked for the Juvenile Corrections Department. His job was to help troubled youth along their path and, during the week, they would have meetings to talk about feelings and issues. During one of these sessions, my brother was appalled at the abusive and foul language the young men used. So he instituted a rule that whenever any of them swore, they would have to spit into a styrofoam cup.
The boys took this as a challenge thinking that my brother was naïve, so they’d rear back and put a real beauty into the cup.
At the end of the session, Ryan spoke with reference to this verse: ‘What comes out of your mouth is a reflection of what is in your heart’.
‘Now’, he said to the boys, ‘all of you have to drink what you’ve put in the cup’.
Imagine if all of us had to drink our words!
But the opposite is also true. If our words and thoughts, the matters of the heart, are a reflection of Paul’s words in Philippians 4:8, ‘… if anything is excellent or praiseworthy – think about such things!’, then we understand the heart is clean.
God bless your hearts and the things you say.
Heavenly Father, thank you for the beautiful things of the heart, for pure love for you and others. Guide my thoughts and words as I live so that others may hear good words and glorify Jesus. Amen.
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