"...For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. The good person out of his good treasure brings forth good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure brings forth evil" (Mt 12:34b-35).
The words that come out of your mouth today will reveal what is in your heart.
Words of encouragement, truth, hope and joy will only come out if those things are in your heart.
Filthy jokes, complaining, cursing, bitterness and anger will only come out if those things are in your heart.
Sometimes we can bite our tongues and not say the bad things that are in our hearts. Sometimes we can force a smile and an encouraging word, because we know it will help a situation.
Like a tea bag reveals its contents in hot water, conflict will reveal what's really in our hearts.
A sweet wife who lashes out in anger when her dream world comes crashing down around her. A husband who yells when he doesn't get his way. A teen who stomps off to his room yelling because his parents refused to give him what he wanted.
Heat reveals what's inside.
But it doesn't have to end there.
Evil and sin are within each of us. It's a constant struggle.
But God's grace brings about change. I don't have to stay in my anger and bitterness. I can choose to fill my heart with God's Word which will result in a change in my words.
But God's grace gives forgiveness. Because God has forgiven me, I can forgive those who have revealed the evil contents of their hearts. I can forgive them and we can work on changing together with God's grace.
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