From the desk of Pastor Ben
The Principle of the True Heart – Part 1

“For the mouth speaks out of that which fills the heart. The good man brings out of his good treasure what is good; and the evil man brings out of his evil treasure what is evil.” (Matthew 12:34b-35)

In this passage, the Lord gives us one of the most basic principles concerning mankind: what a person is internally, his or her mouth will sooner or later reveal externally. In his letter, James takes this so far as to say that one who did not sin with his mouth would be “a perfect man” (James 3:2). The Pharisees often spoke evil because their hearts contained much evil. By their own words they condemned themselves, ironically even as they tried to condemn Jesus.
In the Bible, “the heart” signifies the basis of human thought and will — it represents the character of a person. Therefore, when the mouth speaks, it simply reproduces what is already in the heart and reveals what the person is really like. Using this same symbol of the human heart, Jesus later explained that “the things that proceed out of the mouth come from the heart, and those defile the man. For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornication, thefts, false witness, slanders” (Matthew 15:18-19).
A person who has animosity toward another will eventually express those feelings. Someone who constantly entertains lustful thoughts will someday express them by crude or suggestive remarks. The person who has an ongoing attitude of anger or hate will ultimately transfer those feelings into words. In the same way, the faithful believer who is truly loving, considerate, and gracious will express those heart attitudes in words and deeds.

Ask Yourself:
Life generally leads us to become more gentle and gracious, or to become increasingly harsh and hard to live with. Knowing that these are largely the result of how we live our lives and the mind-sets we adopt along the way, which direction would you say you are headed?