Matthew 15, Mark 7

http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew%2015;%20Mark%207&version=ESV


Mark 7:20-22: "And he said, "What comes out of a person is what defiles him. For from within, out of the heart of man, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, coveting, wickedness, deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride, foolishness. All these evil things come from within, and they defile a person."

Do you remember when you were a kid and you heard the saying, "Sticks and stones but may my bones, but word will never hurt me"? How untrue this is.

When we are younger we are often very mean in how we talk of others. And as we age, what comes out of our moth is indicative of the condition of your heart.

As Jeremiah wrote: "The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can
understand it?" (Jeremiah 17:9)

When is the last time you gossiped about somebody? Or have you told a risque joke, or made a comment that could be suggestive or have a double-meaning, or mean-spirited?

I'll tell you about myself. Probably about 12 or 13 years ago when I started coming to Second Baptist, I would really like to joke around, and a lot of my jokes were at others expense. I didn't feel the jokes were too harsh, and a lot of the fellas thought it was funny, so I joked that way.

But my relationship with the Lord was not where it is today. A Sunday school teacher called me "The Knife" because I could be so cutting with my humor and remarks. I thought it was funny at the time, but the Holy Spirit began to do a massive work on my heart.

God convicted me in that what I was saying really was a reflection of my inward character, and I did not like that at all!!! Not so much did I not like it for my sake, but I realized that it was devastating my witness for Christ.

So the Lord has really worked on me in this area. I am very careful in what I say. I will not lie, in that sometimes I am tempted to fling a one-liner, but before I speak rashly I really have come to think and pray if it will be edifying speech for others. If it is not, then I don't say it.

As Paul wrote in Ephesians 4:29, "Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear."

I am in no ways perfect in this. Some times I slip, but I am much more cognizant of it, and if I do speak in such a way, then I seek to repent of the sin and ask for forgiveness from those I have offended as soon as possible. I have really prayed to the Lord to incline my heart to His, to think my thoughts after Him, to take my thoughts captive to Christ before speaking to others, and just when I am joking around with friends.

You may say, "Russ, you are being too harsh. Too much of a prude. Come on, everyone tells the lurid joke of off-color joke once in a while." Well, my friend, each time you do that, you are showing the condition of your heart.

Again in Ephesians, Paul specifically writes about this when he says,

"Let there be no filthiness nor foolish talk nor crude joking, which are out of place, but instead let there be thanksgiving." (Ephesians 5:4)

You know, when the Lord started to work on my heart in this area, I was afraid that I would not be as funny anymore or as much a part of the group anymore. But friends, that has not been the case.

Now, I am not saying I am funny. But the Lord has developed my character so that I don't need to tell jokes or comments of the sort I used to. When you are obedient to Christ, God will work in you to maximize your talents, personality, and character.

I feel I can have more fun than I did back then and I am not doing it at any one's expense.

So friends, pray to the Lord that you would be more cognizant of what comes out of your mouth via your speech. Pray to the Lord that your speech would be used for edification and not mocking, praise and not slander, thanksgiving and not complaining.

As John Newton, the author of the hymn Amazing Grace, once wrote:

“I am not what I ought to be. . . . I am not what I wish to be. . . . I am not what I hope to be. . . . Yet . . . I am not what I once was . . . and by the grace of God I am what I am.”

Soli Deo Gloria.

Today's post was submitted by Russ Shellhamer.