“The things that come out of a person’s mouth come from the heart.” – Mathew 15:18 

I love talking.  I don’t know what it is but something about flapping my gums to an attentive person, or telling an intriguing story to a focused crowd makes me one happy camper. Particularly when what I’m going on about has to do with spiritual matters such as growing in our understanding of God’s word, learning to forgive one another or finding peace and comfort in our Savior.  It is without question that I enjoy jabbering endlessly about such wonderful things but as much as I like to blab, I also thoroughly enjoy listening to others when they speak as well.

When I’m on the receiving end of someone’s gum-flapping, I make every possible effort to fully listen to them. I do my best to give them my undivided attention so I can grasp what they are really trying to say.   I purposely pay close attention because I know from experience that scriptures such as Mathew 15:18 are true.   The words that we regularly speak are a reflection of what is going on in our heart.

Oftentimes when our heart is bitter, we think we can fool others by saying good sounding things, giving off the better impression we are hoping to give. If we stick around long enough however, and really listen to one another, eventually the truth that is in our hearts will eventually tumble out of our mouth. Whether it’s good or bad, when we take time to honestly listen to each other we find that our words eventually prove to be a heart reflection.

Recently I was doubly delighted when I listened to words that came out of the mouth of young girl at church who was preparing to get baptized.  The youthful girl wanted to share a few words about how she had come to know Jesus as her Lord and Savior and so while standing in warm water, waist high, in the baptismal tub on stage she told the congregation her brief testimony.

“One day I got into a really big fight with some friends at school and they told me that I made most of the problems.  I went home that night and thought about it a lot.   The next day I decided to invite Jesus into my heart.  Now, I still make most of the problems but I also make most of the solutions.”

The congregation instantly let out a roar of laughter. What a mouth on that youngster.  She stood in front of everyone and spoke simple words that were honest and pure and everyone there knew that her words perfectly reflected her heart.

She could have sugared up or over spiritualized her story, like adults do at times.  She could have spoken words that made her appear problem free the moment she gave her heart to Jesus, but she didn’t. This young girl freely admitted that her friends were right when they told her she caused most of the problems and also admitted that her nature to cause problems didn’t instantly go away because she had become a Christian. Instead she spoke words of truth and the nature of her heart was crystal clear.

This beautiful girl’s testimony is a fast reminder for gum flappers like me and for all of us that the words we speak reflect the condition of our heart.

Pay attention to what comes out of your mouth, if it’s not all what it should be, maybe it’s time for a heart check.