Keep an Eye on Your Overflow

While volunteering in my son’s kindergarten class last year, I overheard a conversation that I thought was very interesting. Two boys were sitting at a table practicing writing the alphabet. One of the boys is known for staying in trouble. One boy asked the other if he goes to church. The boy said yes. Immediately the other child stopped, looked the boy in the eye, and said , “Then why don’t you act like it?” I have to wonder how many people have thought the same of me. Even a five year old knows that Christians should behave differently than the rest of the world. Too many times our words and actions do not bear witness to the Christ that lives within us.

I sometimes say hateful things that I should not have even thought much less let spew from my mouth. As a matter of fact, if I had a dollar for every time I said something unGodly, I would be rich. This is not something I am proud of, but something I struggle with and need to keep in check. I daresay that all of us struggle with our words and thoughts from time to time. Have you ever heard someone say, “It’s just my nature to say what I think”? I agree with that statement. It is our nature to say what we think--our sinful, prideful, unholy nature.

I am convinced that the hateful things that we say are not a result of what is in our head, but a direct result of what is in our heart. Luke 6:45 says “The good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. For out of the overflow of his heart his mouth speaks”. I see this verse played out in my own life quite frequently. When I am diligent in prayer and Bible study, the overflow of my heart is much sweeter than when I am not. I call it the “Garbage In/ Garbage Out Theory”. When we continually allow bitterness, jealousy, and all the evil things of the world to corrupt our minds, the result is a heart that is overflowing with unpleasantness and leads to hate-filled words. If we cultivate a close relationship with our Savior, the seeds of discontentment that are planted by Satan will never have a chance to grow in our hearts. What is in our hearts makes all the difference in what comes out our mouths.