Out of the Overflow of the Heart

What a week. For those of you who live under a rock, the election just happened. And I think we can all agree that this one has just about taken the cake for ugly elections. I mean, people just got downright nasty with each other.

At first, it made me mad. I had to take a week off of Facebook because the way people were posting was affecting the view I had of them in real life. But then, it hit home. My family got involved. Words were thrown; words that can never be taken back. I think that 20 years of pain and hurt all culminated into one ugly Facebook showdown. And sure, the post was deleted. But the hurt wasn't.

I was heartbroken. These are my loved ones. And politics brought out such a painful side. But the more I thought about it, I realized the heart issue here isn't politics. The heart issue is the past 20 years of disconnect and family pain. It just took one comment that came across the wrong way to bring all of that to the surface.

That got me to thinking about our hearts as Christians. So often we are "bumped." Something rubs us the wrong way, someone does something to hurt us, etc. And, inevitably, when we get bumped, something is going to come out. The questions is, what will bubble to the surface of your life? To answer that question, I think that you have to dig to your heart.

You see, the Bible is pretty clear that, "Out of the overflow of the heart, the mouth speaks (Luke 6:45)." When something happens to you, the way you respond directly points to what is happening in your heart. The sarcastic Facebook posts demeaning the "other side" clearly delineate a heart that is not filled with love. Rolling your eyes when your boss turns around demonstrates a lack of respect for your authorities. Yelling at the driver cutting you off demonstrates a lack of patience. I could go on, but I think you get the point. 

Ultimately, everything you do or say points to your heart. And your heart points straight to the status of your relationship with Jesus. So friends, how is your heart? Remember, a lost and broken world is watching you.

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