Abundance of the heart?

Luke 6:45
A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart brings forth evil. For out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks.

Have you ever said something negative?  Have you ever said a “bad” word?  My guess is that you have; I know I have.  But were those things spoken out of your heart or were they spoken out of your anger or your frustration?

We all get caught up in the heat of the moment.  It’s when things are spiraling out of control that we find ourselves saying the worst things.  When work is busy and everyone wants or needs something from you RIGHT NOW, that’s when we typically blow it and lose our cool.  

Maybe that’s not you.  Maybe you’re the person who keeps a level head at work and then comes home only to explode at your son because he left a Lego on the floor.  Or maybe you hold back all day and then let the verbal flood out on your spouse.

Whichever you are, know this: these moments of explosive, verbal diarrhea are not from the abundance of your heart.  They are from the overstimulation of your mind and they are a human reaction to stress.  You’re normal!

So what then, if this isn’t about those moments in time, is this verse speaking about?  Well, let’s find out. As Christians we want Christ in our hearts.  Christ is God, and, being God, He knows that we’re going to speak harsh words to each other from time to time.  He knows that we’re explosive in anger and that we speak from the emotion, not the heart in those cases. Moments of losing your cool don’t mean that Christ is no longer there.  It’s what you speak of on a regular basis, not out of stress and pressure, that shows what’s in your heart.  

Ask yourself this question: Do I speak of the finished work of Jesus Christ and His abundance of grace or do I speak of rules and regulations dictating how to be a better person?  This is the test to find out what is in your heart.

Christ wants to be the center of your normal thoughts and conversations.  He doesn’t want you talking about rules that dictate how to live; He doesn’t want you talking about work that still needs to be done.  No, Christ wants us talking about His finished work.  He wants us to speak, from the good treasure (Jesus) that’s in our hearts and tell the world of His glory, His grace, His forgiveness, His perfection, His righteousness, and His abundance of love!