MORE THAN MEETS THE EAR
Matthew 12:33-37 NKJV
33 "Either make the tree good and its fruit good, or else make the tree bad and its fruit bad; for a tree is known by its fruit. 34 Brood of vipers! How can you, being evil, speak good things? For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. 35 A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good things, and an evil man out of the evil treasure brings forth evil things. 36 But I say to you that for every idle word men may speak, they will give account of it in the day of judgment. 37 For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned."
I borrowed from the old axiom: there's more than meets the eye. The idea behind that old saying is there is more to a person or an object than what is readily visible. And when it comes to our words there is more going on than simply what we hear.
Jesus gives us the best parameters for gauging whether someone or something is good or bad. What fruit does it produce? We hear people say, "They're a good person, they have a good heart, but you can't believe what they say because they constantly lie." Spoiler alert. According to Jesus, they are not a good person with a good heart because of their lying. A good person with a good heart is not going to lie to you. How about this instead? They have an amiable personality, but they are not trustworthy because they lie. I mean, if you were hiring someone to work for you, and on their resume, it reads pleasant personality but lies consistently. Would you hire that person?
Jesus said we don't have to judge a person's heart; we simply have to examine the fruit of their lives. The same principle applies to churches. Good churches produce good fruit, good results. You may not agree with how a church does everything. But are they reaching and helping people? If so, they're a good church.
Jesus spoke of a good person out of the good treasure of his heart, producing good things. And an evil person out of the evil treasure of their heart producing bad things. Because out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. A word about the oxymoron evil treasure. A better translation would be out of the evil or bad treasury. Another word is storeroom. If there is bad in the storeroom of the heart, it will result in wrong words that produce bad fruit. This is why it is so important to put God's Word in our hearts. To fill the storeroom of our heart with truth and light and life and faith. Good stuff in, good stuff out.
Solomon wrote in Proverbs chapter four a great guide for putting God's Word in our hearts. If you'll read verses 20-23, you'll see the wisdom of God. Give attention to God's Word. Keep your focus on what God has said. Don't lose sight of God's Word by staring at everything else around you and meditate on God's Word to keep it in your heart. That's the abbreviated version, but the principles are still viable and powerful today.
Jesus was not mincing words when He spoke of the importance of our words. Our culture may have reduced the importance of words, but the timeless wisdom of God has not changed. Our words matter. What we put in front of our eyes can get in our heart. And what comes out of our heart produces fruit in our lives, good or bad. Jesus even goes as far as to say that we will one day give account of every idle or careless word that we speak. Ouch! Words matter; let's make ours good.