Matthew 12:34 “For out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks. The good man brings good things out of the good stored up in him, and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in him.”
Matthew 12:37 “For by your words you will be acquitted, and by your words you will be condemned.”
I remember years ago I was attending the Renaissance Festival in Plantersville Texas with my daughter, family, and some close friends. As we were walking through the festival vendors would be outside trying to get you to come into their booths to look at the items they were selling. Some were pretty aggressive at times. By the end of the day I’d had enough and became rude to some of the folks that were trying to pull me into their booths. At one point one of my friends said to me, “They are only doing their jobs. They are not trying to take advantage of you.” I’m not sure about the taking advantage of me bit, but he was right, they were just doing their job.
As I look back on that event, it may not seem like a big deal to some, but for some reason it became a point in my life where I realized that my attitude in situations like that comes across more negative than positive. My brothers oldest daughter, my mom and dad’s first grandchild, used to call my father Grumpy Grampy. He loved her so much, but in some cases he fit the bill, Grumpy Grampy. I know that my brother and I have no desire to carry that tradition on in our families.
I recently came across some notes in an old Bible that I used back in college and through to most of my adult life. It is now old, worn, and pretty fragile, but an important possession to me. Within that Bible on the blank pages and in margins there are hundreds of notes that I took either in Bible studies or through sermons I may have heard. I came across one section where I had taken some notes from a sermon that listed different attitudes that we often display, from Praise to Blasphemy. As I looked over these notes noticed they were listed in a certain order from negative to positive. There were scriptures beside each attitude listed.
It occurred to me that this list of attitudes in many ways were an indication of where your heart was in relationship to God and to your self. The more negative the attitude, the more self focused you were. This list has become for me some what of a Heart Monitor. Checking the attitude that I had toward my life, someone else, or a situation gave me an idea of where my heart was at any moment in time. It has been helpful to me.
Heart Monitor
As we become more and more self focused we tend to begin displaying the attributes toward the bottom of this graphic. When we are angry and bitter, we become more and more self centered to the point of talking about others behind their backs, judging, and even throwing out accusations toward those involved. On the other hand as we let go of ourselves, become less focused on our own selfish needs and begin to look outwardly toward others and God our attitudes and behaviors begin to take on the upper traits.
Matthew 12 is a tough chapter. Some pretty direct comments were made by Jesus to the people in which he was engaging. Verse 34’s message around “out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks” is a popular and often quoted verse. But reading the verses around this verse hits a very strong message which is often overlooked. This is summarized by verse 37. The initial focus of this blog was going to be only about the out of the overflow of the heart message. However, Jesus is so direct in his statements in this chapter on how our words impact not only the lives of others but ultimately our own, I couldn’t leave these comments out. Our words can build or destroy, they can either acquit us or they can condemn us. We all know the “sticks and stones” phrase. I think it is totally false. Words not only can hurt, that hurt can last for a life time, where as the sticks and stones will only hurt and bruise for a little while. For this reason, it’s probably a good idea to check your heart every once in a while.