Your Words Reveal Your Heart

But what comes out of the mouth comes from the heart, and this defiles a person.
Matthew 15:18, CSB 

I remember as a young boy playing outside a lot and getting really dirty. My mom would come to the door and yell, “Dinner is ready!” I would immediately run in and sit at the table while my hands were caked with mud from playing in the dirt. I was ready to eat! However, she would always say, “Shane, go wash your hands.” My mom didn’t want me touching the food that was going into my mouth with my dirty hands. 

It’s ironic because the Pharisees of Jesus’ day had a law about washing hands, but for spiritual reasons. In Matthew 15:10–20, Jesus uses this law as a teaching principle about the inner person. As important as it is to wash your hands before putting food into your mouth, it is actually more important to realize that what comes out of your mouth can be unhealthy spiritually. Jesus said, “What goes into your mouth is soon eliminated, but what comes out of your mouth can last a lifetime because it reveals your true heart” (v.17–18). 

What proceeds out of your mouth? What good is it to do all of this religious activity if your heart is full of evil? You must realize that you are judged according to the condition of your heart—not just by what you do. 

How can you know what the condition of your heart is? You will find your answers in what you say. Are unclean words streaming from your mouth? How about negativity, gossip or words of anger? 

PRAY: Ask God to reveal to you some possible things that come out of your mouth that aren’t pleasing to Him. Repent of those and ask God to change your heart and replace those words with ones that are pleasing to Him. 

ACT: Think about the things you have said in the presence of your one. Is there anything you need to apologize for doing or saying? It’s hard for them to hear you talk about Jesus if they are hearing you talk about things that don’t reflect His nature.