“Those things which proceed out of the mouth come from
the heart….For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries,
fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies. These are the things which
defile a man…” —Matthew 15:18-20
Our old nature does not go away when we are born again, but
when we are born again, we no longer have to live in subjection to our old
nature. We have a choice. But, because it is a choice, we can choose
poorly and allow the old nature to dominate us. One of the sure-fire ways that
I can tell where a person is spiritually is by listening to what they say and
how they say it.
“Out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks.”
– Luke 6:45
In other words, your speech will eventually reveal your
heart. We often make excuses for our old
nature. “That is the way our family is.”
“I was just kidding.” Actually, we don’t have to make excuses for our old
nature. It is what it is. It will never get better. It can only be replaced with our new nature. If our heart is yielded to the Lord then what
comes out of our mouths will reflect the Spirit. (Read Galatians 5:16-25 to
understand the contrast).
We are all vulnerable to spiritual relapses, but traits of
our old nature should not be characteristic of who people think we are, what
they have come to expect of us and how we behave toward others and the
Lord. Stop making excuses for what you
know is wrong and does not honor God.
Our mission in this life is to reflect Jesus, to glorify God, to
proclaim the Gospel through the living out of our lives.
“The path of the righteous is like the morning sun,
shining ever brighter till the full light of day. But the way of the wicked is
like deep darkness; they do not know what makes them stumble. My son, pay
attention to what I say; turn your ear to my words. Do not let them out of your
sight, keep them within your heart; for they are life to those who find them
and health to one’s whole body. Above all else, guard your heart, for
everything you do flows from it. Keep your mouth free of perversity; keep
corrupt talk far from your lips. Let your eyes look straight ahead; fix your
gaze directly before you. Give careful thought to the paths for your feet and
be steadfast in all your ways. Do not turn to the right or the left; keep your
foot from evil.” – Proverbs 4:18-27
Before I was born again, using profanity in my conversations
was, well, normal for me. Something that my children can’t imagine. They also can’t believe that I had a problem with
alcohol – post Vietnam PTSD self-medicating. Profanity
– in any language – is crass – rude – unnecessary. Often times, it is a common
word that is used as an expletive. It is
not really the word that is the problem, but the heart behind the word. What
part of your old nature do you struggle with? You can’t overcome it on your
own, it is a spiritual quest that you are on and it’s spiritual strength that
you need to be successful. CHARLEY
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