Kellyanne Conway (Trump advisor) : “Judge Donald Trump by “what’s in his heart [not] what’s come out of his mouth.”
Jesus: “…out of the overflow of the heart, the mouth speaks.”*
Some people are so easy for me to judge. It’s like shooting fish in a barrel. I compare myself with them and feel comfortably self-righteous.
“Bam! I’m better than THAT!”
“Pow! I’d never say THAT!”
Their speech, like gangrene, is so ugly and offensive it’s easy to recognize that they must have heart disease.
But then I read more of my Bible and I’m reminded:
“The heart is deceitful above all things …” Jeremiah 17:9 as in “MY heart is deceitful above all things…” There is hidden heart decay that I don’t want to face. And then…
“…all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” Romans 3:23
That means I have heart a disease, and so do you. Even though my words may mask the condition of my heart more than others, there is pride and lack of love, and selfishness pumping through the chambers.
This weekend, John preached on the power of our words, and included an oral check-up. Some of these questions**may help you assess the condition of your heart, but then what? How do we do cardiac care?
Proverbs 4:23-24 says,
Don’t become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You’ll be changed from the inside out. Romans 12:2
We may hear this a lot, but do we really pay attention to it? It can be really uncomfortable, but what if we ask:
Will this…
movie…
relationship…
activity…
book…
Twitter/FB/Instagram feed…
…contribute to my spiritual heart health or heart decay?
As a result will my heart be beating more in sync with the heart of Jesus and because of that will my words be more like His words? Or will I be more prone to crass language, gossip, criticism, cynicism…?
*Luke 6:45
**
- Would people say you talk too much or hold too much inside?
- Which is harder for you, receiving criticism, or offering it?
- Are you more about asking questions or giving answers?
- When is the last time you misrepresented/exaggerated/deceived/lied to someone?
- Sometimes we confuse swearing with bad language (gossip/anger/pettiness etc.) Which is more of a temptation for you?
- Words + faith…Is your faith a state secret? Do people see what they hear?
- When was the last time you resolved a conflict & strengthened a relationship?
- What would one who knows you say is truer: Grace over Truth or Truth over grace?
- In a typical conversation do you walk away feeling like the other person learned more about you, or you learned more about them?
- Who are the last 2 people you affirmed/blessed in a way they remember?
