Sometimes leftover food and old containers collect in the refrigerator. If we’re warning roommates and family members not to eat certain items because they’ve expired, we need to clean out our refrigerator. If everything in the refrigerator were safe, we wouldn’t need to warn anyone to avoid anything.
Liken this example to your mouth. Some people worry about what comes out of their mouths because they know they’ve sometimes regretted their words. They’re right to be concerned. Words are powerful; they can destroy, encourage, discourage, invigorate, annoy, motivate, help, and hurt. But the best way to ensure that our words are glorifying to God is to go back to the source of our words, our heart. We can scheme all day about what to say, but our words will eventually betray us if our heart isn’t right.
In his condemnation of the Pharisees and their sins of the tongue, Jesus said, “How can you speak good, when you are evil? For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks”(Matthew 12:34). A few chapters later, Jesus explains that works done for appearance are not the answer in the quest for holiness. He says, “But what comes out of the mouth proceeds from the heart, and this defiles a person”(Matthew 15:18).
In the training of his disciples in Luke 6, Christ encourages them to deal with the sin in their own hearts and lives before assuming that they can see clearly to address sin in another Christian’s life. In verses 44-45 he then states, “For each tree is known by its own fruit. For figs are not gathered from thornbushes, nor are grapes picked from a bramble bush. The good person out of the good treasure of his heart produces good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure produces evil; for out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks.” The fact that the mouth reflects what’s in the heart is true not only of the Pharisees but also of Christians. Self-centered, lying, vindictive words are the natural outpouring of a self-centered, lying, vindictive heart. Honest, gracious words emanate from the honest, gracious heart.
James 3 is another passage which addresses issues of the tongue. In this passage, as well, the source of the words is emphasized: “From the same mouth come blessing and cursing. My brothers, these things ought not to be so. . . . Can a fig tree, my brothers, bear olives, or a grapevine produce figs? Neither can a salt pond yield fresh water. Who is wise and understanding among you? By his good conduct let him show his works in the meekness of wisdom”(vv.10-13).
Fill your heart with God’s Word so that when words spill out of your mouth, they reflect the heart of God.