READING: Matthew 15, Mark 7
TEXTS AND APPLICATION: If you were to walk with me non-stop for the next seven days, how much would you know about my heart at the end of the week? I hope you would learn something about me by watching my priorities — priorities that I trust are simply living out the Great Commandment and the Great Commission.
You’d probably learn about me by observing what I read, what I watch on TV, what I listen to on the radio, what searches I embark upon on my computer. You’d learn my heart by watching how I treat my wife. With all those possibilities, though, I suspect you can learn even more by listening to how I speak, by paying attention to what comes out of my mouth. At the risk of sounding arrogant and judgmental by even writing these words, I can tell you I’ve learned that words spoken in back room conversations are often more reflective of one’s heart than any words spoken to large, adoring crowds. What comes out of our mouth really does reveal our inner being, just as Jesus told us:
Matt. 15:18-19 But what comes out of the mouth comes from the heart, and this defiles a man. For from the heart come evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, sexual immoralities, thefts, false testimonies, blasphemies.
Jesus was not limiting His application to only our words, of course — for our heart is revealed in our will, our actions, our thoughts, and our desires as well — but surely He was not ignoring our words. To pretend that our words don’t somehow reflect our heart is to lie to ourselves. To speak one way in private and another way in public is simply hypocritical.
ACTION STEPS: Ask God to make you fully aware of what’s in your heart today — especially as your words make that apparent. If your potential words reveal a heart in disarray, repent before you speak.
PRAYER: “God, make my heart pure today, and let my words reflect that purity.”
TOMORROW’S READING: Matthew 16, Mark 8, Luke 9:18-27