Producing Fruit

“Make a tree good and its fruit will be good, or make a tree bad and its fruit will be bad, for a tree is recognized by its fruit…For out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks…But I tell you that men will have to give account on the day of judgment for every careless word they have spoken. For by your words you will be acquitted, and by your words you will be condemned.” Matthew 12:33

With all of the commands from God, watching our spoken words seems on the surface one of the lesser sins. When more closely examined we see why what we say is so important to God – it shows the motivation of our hearts. Fruit on a tree becomes rotten from the inside out – not from the outside in. We are all planted in God’s garden with the capability of producing amazing fruit. It is up to us as to the fruit we will grow.

The motivation of our heart and our spoken words reflect whether our nutrients are from the flow of the Holy Spirit or from the toxins of the flesh. Jesus makes it crystal clear that we will be judged for every word that comes from our mouths. There is no gray area – our words will be life giving or life diminishing. Our example is Christ who was described by God through the prophet Isaiah as one whom ‘a bruised reed he will not break, and a smoldering wick he will not snuff out.’ This attests to the gentleness and meekness of Christ when He walked the earth. There was no malice in Him, ‘And in him is no sin.’ 1 John 3:5. Through Him we take on His righteousness and purity as a means to bear fruit by allowing the Holy Spirit to rule in our hearts and our minds.

Whatever is in our hearts will be vocalized through our mouths. Will it be life giving or life diminishing?