A Mouthful!

Someone has noted, “It may be bad to talk when our mouth is full, but it isn’t too good either when our head is empty.” [source: “1600 Squibs And Quips”, compiled by E. C. McKenzie] It seems like there are always some who will not let an empty head keep them from speaking a mouthful.

Yesterday as I was reading through the fifth chapter of John, I was struck by an emptiness Jesus noted in the lives of some who appear to have felt they were filled with the wisdom of God. As Jesus spoke, he drew attention to two things these were empty of: the word of God ( John 5:38) and the love of God. ( John 3:42) Running on empty, these fiercely opposed Jesus and spoke against Him. On another occasion when Jesus was faced with Pharisees who -- in their understanding (or rather misunderstanding) of the law and the prophets -- refused to accept the possibility He was doing His works by the power of God ( Matthew 12:23-24), Jesus drew attention to the problem being in relation to what was within them.

Jesus declared…
“(33) Either make the tree good and its fruit good, or make the tree bad and its fruit bad, for the tree is known by its fruit. (34) You brood of vipers! How can you speak good, when you are evil? For OUT OF THE ABUNDANCE OF THE HEART THE MOUTH SPEAKS. (35) The good person out of his good treasure brings forth good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure brings forth evil. (36) I tell you, on the day of judgment people will GIVE ACCOUNT FOR EVERY CARELESS WORD they speak, (37) for by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.” ( Matthew 12:33-37 ESV)

Out of the ABUNDANCE OF THE HEART the mouth speaks. However, for some that may be from an abundance of evil or sheer ignorance. The ABUNDANCE held within is what our speech is going to be based upon and if we are careless about that, we will be called to account for it.

May we continually seek to fill ourselves with both God’s Word and His love. These two in ABUNDANCE will provide a proper basis from which our words can be spoken and justified. With a heart filled with God’s love and a head filled with His Word we will be blessed with a mouthful of worthy words to share with others.

Have a great day FILLED TO THE BRIM FOR HIM!
Carl

See other teEn-MAIL on Speech