From the Fullness of the Heart the Mouth Speaks

What are the thoughts and words that fill your heart? What are the words that circle around in your brain at night when you cannot sleep? What are the thoughts that come to light as soon as you wake up?

The Power of Words

From the fullness of the heart the mouth speaks…. On the day of judgment people will render an account for every careless word they speak. By your words you will be acquitted, and by your words you will be condemned (Matthew 12:34, 36-37).

Sticks and stones can break my bones, but words will never hurt me! We may have been taught to say that when we were little, but even then we didn’t really believe it. We knew that words not only could hurt but did — very much! 

But words can also soothe and comfort. Words can cheer us up and help us to keep going when we are ready to give up. Words are very powerful, in speech and in print. We know these things, but too often we do not remember until it is too late.

Our modern culture is full of words. Information overload is one term for it. Noise is another. Chatter. Background sound. Whether printed, scrolled, or broadcast words are always around us and very few of them seem to be controlled. Everybody seems to have an opinion and is encouraged to express it, loudly and often, and damn the consequences.

Religion Doesn’t Sellf

From the fullness of the heart the mouth speaks. A good person brings forth good out of a store of goodness, but an evil person brings out evil out of a store of evil. (Matthew 12:34-35)

You and I, dear reader, are a very valuable commodity. Rather, our ‘data’ is valuable. It is sold, stolen, traded, and forged. In one-year personal data made a net profit of $100 billion for the top 5 tech companies. Consumers as the real product being sold is nothing new, the way we are bought and sold has changed.

What is the message being broadcast 24 hours a day? Is it uplifting? Does it give us hope and guidance on how to live the way we were meant by God? Or are we bombarded with words of anger, fear, insecurity, and doubt? Are we encouraged to speak of peace or to gossip about scandals – personal or political? Is anyone telling us to give away all we own to the poor and follow Jesus? Of course not. That is a very small niche market and not worth much. Religion doesn’t sell.

There are subjects about which I try to ‘reserve judgment.’  This is because I lack knowledge and experience of the persons and the situation.  That being so, I may not legitimately express an opinion. I only know hearsay – from emails or what I may have read in the papers or heard from a neighbour or on the news or another infotainment programme. More often than not the subject is simply none of my business. But gossip and judgment is encouraged. You don’t need to know anything. If you contradict yourself from one day to the next it doesn’t matter as long as you keep talking. The last thing, the worst thing is silence. This is because it is in moments of silence we are able to hear the quiet voice of God.

There is a world of difference between stating a personal opinion and proclaiming God’s Truth. 

Witness to Jesus – By Their Fruits, You Shall Know Them

With (our mouth) we bless the Lord and Father, and with it we curse human beings who are made in the likeness of God. From the same mouth come blessing and cursing. This need not be so, my brothers. Does a spring gush forth from the same opening both pure and brackish water?… the wisdom from above is first of all pure, then peaceable, gentle, compliant, full of mercy and good fruits, without inconstancy or insincerity (James 3:9-11, 17).

To evangelise by our lives includes the things we say, what we talk about and how we talk or write about them. We must learn to put ourselves and our opinions away and instead remember our purpose is not to show others how great we are, but how great God is and to show them how to follow the Way. We are meant to display to others how a good Christian lives and to reveal by our words and our actions the love of God and the person of Jesus Christ.

Further Advice on Conversation

If anyone thinks he is religious and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his heart, his religion is in vain. James 1:26

St Francis de Sales writes much about speech, judgment, motives, and effects in Introduction to the Devout Life. Especially in the Third Part, Chapters 26 through 30. 

To speak little is recommended by the ancient sages.  It does not mean that we speak a few words only, but that we are not to say many useless words.  In speaking we are not concerned about quantity but quality.  It seems to me that we should avoid two extremes.  To be too reserved and rigid, refusing to contribute to familiar talk in conversations, seems to show either lack of confidence or some kind of contempt.  To chatter and cajole always, without giving leisure or opportunity for others to speak as they would like to, is a sign of shallowness and light-mindedness. (cf IDL Chapter 30)

In the Beginning, was the Word

Know this …everyone should be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath, for the wrath of a man does not accomplish the righteousness of God. (James 1:19-20)

We must always remember to use our words wisely. Jesus promised that the Holy Spirit will give you the words to say if you fill your heart with God’s words.  A very pleasant and easy way to fill your mind and heart with the Word of God is to say the Morning and Evening Prayers of the Church.  It only takes about 10 minutes if you must hurry. After a short while, perhaps a few days or a few weeks, you will find you no longer want to rush through the psalms. A little after that you will find that the words in your mind are the words of God rather than the words of the media. Through this, He will guide your actions as well as your speech. From this, you will find you are following His Way and speaking the Truth.  

Do not use harmful words in talking. Use only helpful words, the kind that build up and provide what is needed, so that what you say will do good to those who hear you. And do not make God’s Holy Spirit sad; for the Spirit is God’s mark of ownership on you, a guarantee that the Day will come when God will set you free. Get rid of all bitterness, passion, and anger. No more shouting or insults. No more hateful feelings of any sort. Instead, be kind and tender-hearted to one another, and forgive one another, as God has forgiven you in Christ. Eph 4:29-32

​From the fullness of the heart, the mouth speaks.