Self-Control 3


Luke 6:45

It is very disturbing to take a big drink of milk only to discover the milk has gone sour. You were expecting some cool, refreshing, wholesome milk, but instead you get a mouthful of nastiness. Sometimes the unexpected shock of it is more disturbing than the taste.

In Luke Jesus has a comment on the words of believers. What comes from a good person? What comes from an evil person? Where does this good and evil come from?

It is no surprise to know that good comes from a good person and that bad comes from an evil person. The twist is at the end of the statement. This evil that wells up comes from the heart.

Maybe that doesn’t shock you. But what may shock you is when a person who claims to be a Christian has evil spew from his or her mouth.

We encounter it all the time. There are many people who go to worship, carry a Bible, attend small group studies, and call themselves Christian, yet they are the same people who spread rumors about others. They are the same people who make disparaging and bigoted comments about people of other races and nationalities. They are the same people who verbally run down people of different lifestyles.

It seems they are not aware that we are all God’s children. We are all loved by God and all saved through Jesus, because Christ died for all the world.

As Christians we should be speaking words of love and compassion, performing acts of mercy, and spreading peace. But sometimes people who say they are Christian allow evil to flow from their lips. And where does that evil come from? That evil is in their hearts.

If we will be true Christians we need to not only control what we say, but remove the evil that lies within our hearts. Our love of others should be genuine.

DAILY CHALLENGE: How can you be certain that the source of your words – your heart – is full of good and not evil?

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