Out of the Heart the Mouth Speaks, Part 1

I recently read a headline that jumped off the page to me: “Can a GOP So Divided by Anger Actually Govern in Washington?” What a sobering question! Many elected officials come to Washington full of ideas on how to fight for their causes. But too often, when “fighting for” a cause becomes “fighting against” anyone who doesn’t believe like they do, the noble purpose of the cause is lost in a mountain of anger, judgment, and strife. Nobody wins.

The same thing is true for the Church, Jesus’s Bride. Whether sharing about biblical principles, gifts of the Spirit, or the Bible as it relates to cultural events, our words “for” Jesus and truth can quickly become a judgment “against” those who don’t agree with us. Our life-giving message can be lost because of an emotional, angry or finger-pointing delivery at those who we feel are wrong.

In both cases, out of the heart the mouth speaks.

The [intrinsically] good man produces what is good and honorable and moral out of the good treasure [stored] in his heart; and the [intrinsically] evil man produces what is wicked and depraved out of the evil [in his heart]; for his mouth speaks from the overflow of his heart. (Luke 6:45, AMP)

We can become prideful, self-righteous, or offended when our opinion is not accepted. Every impure, fleshy heart attitude shows up in the tone of our words. Sometimes our need to be right trumps the original goal of encouraging others toward what we believe…and as Christians, toward truth. We forget that we are all equal at the end of the day – we all can be equally wrong or equally right at any given moment depending on what we’ve learned and experienced to date. And, that our own opinions are just that, and subject to change as we learn more.

To clarify, it’s OK to expose lies, wrong doctrine, and sinful behavior; but it’s never OK to write an angry message against someone who believes differently; or to judge their motives. Out of the heart the mouth speaks, so we must first check our own motives.

When exposing lies or sin, our role is to respectfully and lovingly write truth as we understand it so the Holy Spirit can use our words to convict the reader. If, instead, we judge the wrong-doer or criticize them, the enemy can quickly turn our words into condemnation.

How can we self-check our writing to see if it is ready for public consumption? Stay tuned for Part 2…