Wednesday, January 22, 2014
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Once a year, it's gets to be that time again-annual physical checkup. I know it's important, but that doesn't mean I have to get excited about it. I mean, they're going to poke me, and they're going to take my blood, and they're going to analyze me, and they're going to weigh me, and they're going to test me and hook me up to machines. Of course one of those is especially important in light of my family's cardiac history. Sometimes they give me an electrocardiogram; otherwise known as an EKG. And in a sense, that EKG gives information you couldn't get without it. It's sort of a picture of what's really going on inside my heart.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Instant EKG."
Our word for today from the Word of God comes from Matthew 12:34. It's very revealing. It says this, "For out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks." Long before EKGs God gives a way to find out what's going on in a person's heart. Listen to what they talk about a lot. Your mouth will talk about what your heart is full of, which suggests an interesting use for a voice recorder. What if a recording of your conversations was running all week long; everything you said-at home, at work, at school, on the phone, when your guard is down, in your casual moments, and you could play that back and count the number of times certain subjects came up? You know what you'd have? An instant spiritual EKG.
I wonder how often money comes up, or something else material that really is important to you? I wonder how many times there are comments about the opposite sex? Or recreation, or sports, or problems you're having? How much of what your mouth speaks is complaining or self-pity, negative stuff. Maybe you just talk about yourself a lot.
Jesus taught us that our lives should be full of two loves. Remember, "Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength." And, "Love your neighbor as yourself." Love for the Lord and love for the people around you. Now, if we're really living in obedience to the two great commandments, then the recurring themes of our conversation will be Jesus and the needs of other people.
That's more than just sprinkling some spiritual words into the conversation every once in a while. This is the overflow of your heart. It comes naturally. By the way, this is one good way to find out what a person is really like behind their image. Just take note of what he or she talks about most of the time, especially in their unguarded moments.
Maybe you don't like what's overflowing out of your mouth a lot of the time. Well, Jesus gives us one clue as to what we can do about that. The verse says, "The good man brings good things out of the good stored up in him, and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in him." It's what you store up, that your heart fills up on, that's what then comes out of your mouth.
See, we're talking here about the input that you allow into your mental bank. If you don't like the output, change the input. Change what you watch, change what you listen to, change what you laugh at, change who you spend time with. Load up on input that's about loving Jesus and loving other people. And the recording will start to change because your heart is starting to change.
Listen to your heart. You can find out what's really going on there by listening to the things you talk about most. You actually can listen to your heart. Your daily conversation is the ultimate EKG of the condition of your heart.
That's why David prayed, and it could be your prayer and mine, "May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing in Your sight O Lord."