Out of the heart

But those things which proceed out of the mouth come from the heart, and they defile a man. For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies. These are the things which defile a man, but to eat with unwashed hands does not defile a man."  - Matthew 15.18-20

Do you ever do something, say something, or think something and then be so shocked by it that you wonder ‘where in the world did THAT come from?’

That is a scary thought. The Bible tells us that our unregenerate hearts are deceitful above all things and desperately wicked. We are told in the book of Proverbs to ‘keep our hearts with all keeping’ because that is the source of who we really are.

What comes out of the heart? Evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, and blasphemies all come out of the heart.

But there is more to it than that. The passage tells us that man is not defiled by which rituals and traditions he does or does not observe.

It is the stuff that comes out of hearts that defiles us. It is what is in our hearts that is really us. That is why our hearts require guarding. For those of us who are saved Jesus has done a great work in us. He dwells with us. By His power our hearts can be right and our lives can reflect that rightness.

But we have a role to play as well. When we don’t guard our hearts but fill with the kind of things Jesus talks about that is sure be what come back out. That’s where those ‘where did that come from’ moments have their source.

If indeed our words reflect the real us, what will they reflect today?