“What you say flows from what is in your heart” (Luke 6:45 NLT).
Have you ever said something you regret? I have – many times. In fact, I did yesterday. I was disrespectful, unkind, and just plain rude to my husband. Earlier in the day, I had thanked God for Justin and prayed for him, but a few hours later, I assaulted him with my words.
As soon as the poison was released from my lips, I knew I’d made a terrible mistake.
There was no sense of victory as I’d hoped. I didn’t feel as if I’d “won” the argument. Instead, I was disgusted and saddened by my behavior.
Where did all those damaging words come from? God’s Word says, “The things that come out of the mouth come from the heart (Matthew 15:18).” Anger and bitterness were swirling around inside of me, and our conversation provided the opportunity for those emotions to surface. Once they were red-hot and at a boil, they spewed forth out of my mouth, deeply wounding the one I love the most.
How can we keep our hearts clean and undefiled? How do we avoid damaging others with our careless words? Proverbs 4:23 gives us the answer:
“Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life.”
We guard our hearts by reading the Bible and obeying it. Instead of allowing sinful thoughts to remain unchecked, we confess them to the Lord. We allow his love, joy, and peace to replace the negative attitudes which are festering inside us.
If you fail to protect the condition of your heart and go too far with your words, God invites you to confess our failure to him. Once you do, you don’t need to wallow in guilt or punish yourself with self-loathing. You’re forgiven, and the blood of Jesus makes you clean. However, you do need to go to the person you’ve hurt and restore the relationship.
Ask the Lord right now if there are any sinful attitudes in your heart that need to be laid on the altar. If so, leave them there, and speak life to those you love today.