“Either make the tree good and its fruit good, or make the tree bad and its fruit bad, for the tree is known by its fruit. You brood of vipers! How can you speak good, when you are evil? For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. The good person out of his good treasure brings forth good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure brings forth evil. I tell you, on the day of judgment people will give account for every careless word they speak, for by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.” Matt. 12:33-37
Devotional Thought For The Day
Jesus’ thinking, words, and actions are based in the certainty that good and bad, righteous and evil, are categorically different and distinguishable. He also asserts that the real concern we should have is about our heart condition, what “the abundance of the heart” is within us, whether good or evil. It is not the mere speaking or the mere doing which is of greatest concern, but rather the source of the speaking and doing – what kind of “treasure” is stored up in our hearts. But the connection cannot be forgotten, between what is in our hearts and our speaking – and our words are significant and consequential, especially if they flow from an unbelieving heart.
In that we Christians remain “simul justus et peccator” [at the same time saints and sinners] in this life, Jesus’ words encourage us to take stock of all of these things – what is in our hearts, what we actually do, and what we say. If the “tree is good,” surely this includes integrity and honesty, which means we will often be confessing and repenting our sins of thought, word, and deed. It will mean that we will be apologizing at times, and if apologizing to one who is a fellow Christian, we will receive forgiveness and assurance of continued love. And when others apologize to us, if there is “good treasure” in our hearts, we too will forgive and continue in love, care, and concern for them. Our words “justify” [make righteous] or “condemn” because they are the evidence of what is in our hearts, either faith in God, His grace, mercy, and forgiveness, or unbelief, a rejection of His love and portraying God as harsh, uncaring, condemning, and unmerciful. Yes, our words reveal what is in our heart, whether faith or unbelief, friendship with God Who is love, or animosity and enmity toward Him.
Our sinful nature continues to exert influence even in how we process and assimilate these realities. We try to live kindly and decently but we have already been bombarded by numerous painful experiences, and our sinful nature takes the stinging pain of these evils and foments it into anger, malice, hatred, and the desire for revenge – or at the least justice. Unless we forgive – and remove all of this from our hearts – we know what kind of “treasure” we are storing up inside of us. And our actions and words will reflect this evil. And we will “justify” that evil as “just and right,” when in fact God’s love requires that we do the opposite – that we love, forgive, and do good to others. Angry words – the temptations comes so easily, and the words flow out so automatically; but this is revelation to us of our heart condition. And even when we refrain from speaking or acting out, the force of our reaction bears witness to the “evil treasure’ that remains within us. Self-justifying will do us no good – this is doing our own lawyering; but words of repentance, confession, and humble thankfulness for God’s mercy – these are words that flow out of a heart that has God’s gracious love, where Christ is our advocate, and this is good treasure. And this is the only source of good treasure available to us – so we must imbibe His love frequently, every day, or the evil will push out the good, and our words and deeds will reflect this.
Again, we all have an immense history of wrongs that have been perpetrated against us, stinging and bitter memories. As Christians, we are indignant that others would reject God’s love and dare to push their evil thinking and influence upon others, including our loved ones. Are we angry? Yes, how can this not make us angry and outraged? But as Paul encouraged: “Be angry and do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger.” [Eph. 4:26] We must expel this judgmental anger, and expunge it from our hearts; otherwise, it will be reflected in our words and our deeds, contrary to faith in God’s love, and portraying Him falsely to others. We must remember that we also have an immense personal history of wrongs and sins perpetrated against others – and yet we hope and trust that these also have been forgiven, washed and cleansed away in Christ’s blood. In view of this, how can we revert back to being “vipers”? Jesus’ words, and His love, give us freedom to contemplate these things, and provide us with diagnosis, and also with the cure for our angry madness. If we allow Him, He will make the tree good, and fill our hearts with good treasure, and this will be a great benefit to others and to ourselves.
Prayer For The Day
Dear Lord Jesus, forgive us not only for the evils of thought, word, and deed that we participate in, but more importantly for the evil we allow to remain in our hearts and minds. Help us to keep in mind that if You were to act this way, we would all be annihilated. Keep us firm in faith and trust in Your love, and fill our hearts with forgiveness through Your love, that we have much good treasure to draw from in our living. Only You can make us good trees – which is Your will for us; help us to allow You to minister to us and heal us. Amen.