What’s in Your Heart?
The good person out of the good treasure of the heart produces good, and the evil person out of evil treasure produces evil; for it is out of the abundance of the heart that the mouth speaks.
Luke 6:45, NRSV
Last week, I had several pages on my computer that I wanted to print. I put the paper in the printer, set the computer up and then waited. I wanted about 30 copies and after each one printed, the printer returned a message to ‘load paper.’ There was plenty of paper loaded, so I talked and ranted at the printer for all 30 pages, as I had to remove paper and put it back in repeatedly. It is only a machine, but I was talking to it and was not being pleasant. And it answered me back with the same message: load paper.
It made me think about times when I talk to others with love and care, and other times when maybe I was talking in a voice that would cause them anguish and pain because my heart was full of anger or hurt.
Just as the scribes and Pharisees plotted to catch people and exploit their weakness, so we sometimes fall into that pit. We need our hearts always to be full of the love of God; we need to turn to Him again to know more of the depths of His heart. Certain situations do call for us to be challenging or confrontational, but that response is to come from a place of love and kindness, not resentment or judgment. And it needs to be said from the heart.
Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in your sight, O Lord, my strength and my redeemer.
Psalm 19:14, BCP
