We wouldn't do it, (the sin) if it didn't first start in our hearts right?
Where does anger begin? The heart.
How about negative attitude? Our minds/hearts.
Selfishness? Envy? Bitterness? Those are all attitudes of our hearts.
So what happens when we let those thoughts turn into feelings, and those feelings turn into action?
Lots and lots of disorder and pain manifest from these types of heart attitudes, and then shortly there after, actions that cause others pain is born.
Have you ever considered that our negative words, cause the HEARER pain?
As I am sure most of you do,I like to bounce things off of my spouse, I call him my sounding board.
And my husband is filled with wisdom so I love to hear his take on my life's issues and concerns, but until I read a few verses this morning, I never considered perhaps how my somewhat negative words, would impact my beloved hearer.
"Let your conversation always be full of grace, season with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone." Colossians 4:6
"Instead, speaking the truth in LOVE, we grow to become in every respect the mature body of Him who is the head, Christ." Ephesians 4:15
If it's in my heart, eventually it's going to come out of my mouth.
Here is the tricky part, IF it's in my heart. Stop there. How do I get good in my heart instead of the organic evil that lives there?
Many people will claim to be humble. Self sacrificing. Or others' focused.
But in the very claims of our humility we prove our self love, and pride.
The enemy is so crafty, he can convince us of our goodness, so we can become prideful about how humble we are. That is humanity at it's core.
I echo Paul's cry where he calls himself the "chief of sinners."
Not self demoting so much as realistic. That is what I am without Christ.
If there is any good in me, in it's Christ in me.
SO how about in my thinking?
Is there good that takes root first thing in the morning? Do I awake with thoughts of joy, thankfulness and excitement how I might serve for HIS glory that day? Well I will tell you one thing, I do not awake with this good heart attitude in my own strength.
I must fill my mind with HIS goodness if I want HIS goodness to seep out of me throughout the day.
How do I do this? (with limited time..) :)
I take the moments He gives me to be with Him. I learn from His word, I pray for His strength and I focus on surrendering every evil thought as it arises.
This keeps me in a constant state of surrender. And this is a good thing my friends.
No one is GOOD, (holy, blameless, righteous) all on their own. If we have good that pours out of us, it from the goodness He has given us, and that has been stored up in our hearts as we glean from His truth, wisdom and delightful attributes that I have learned from His word. His words are my lifeline, my starting point and my fall back.
Perhaps one day, holiness WILL be my default and negativity will take a back seat, but until Christ has infiltrated Himself into every ounce of my being, (which will not be until I go heavenward) I daily default to reading His word, and keeping myself in as constant communion with Him as HE allows.
He is my best thought every day, and the more I think on Him, the more the evil organic thinking that I was steeped in at birth can take a back seat.
All humanity worships themselves and exalts themselves in their own thinking. In layman's terms we all think we are pretty great people. We really really like ourselves.
Hard to say and see that isn't it? But it's true. No one will curse themselves. This is the kind of junk that comes out of the humans heart all by itself, and that is the kind of junk that will continue to come out of our hearts unless we ask God to wipe us clean, make us holy, and then keep us close.
That is one of my constant prayers throughout each day, "Lord make me holy, and keep me close."
I want to be so close to the Lord I can hear His heartbeat. (the things He is passionate about) and as you can picture, this is pretty close.
I don't want to move an inch from His desire, because if I do, I default to me, (bad) and then the chaos erupts in my heart again.
When I picture my bad thinking as a dead, smelly and gross fish, I am less likely to feed my thinking more of the same. But If I picture my good thinking, (the thinking that comes from Christ alone) as beautiful, growing, flowering and flourishing tree, I am encouraged to feed that tree the nourishment of good, beneficial thinking.
To come full circle, when I am filled with good, fruitful, Christ-fed thinking, it is beneficial to those around me. And what is the greatest commandment given by God, LOVE God, and LOVE others.
Do you really think I am loving others well, (not to mention God) when I am spewing the anger, greed, resentment and bitterness and self exaltation that so naturally comes from my thinking? I'll let you answer this yourself.
But I would say that I am not.
SO, in conclusion... Out of the goodness stored in my heart, speaks the mouth.
What is in my heart this morning? Heart check time. And if what is found in my heart is anything less that attitude of Christ, then I need to realign my thinking (through the power Christ provides me) to His heart.
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