The title of my next book will be “Treasures of the Heart.” Col 3:16 teaches us to “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom…” When the Word of the Lord dwells in us as to be rich in wisdom, we will speak words of wisdom. From the heart thoughts are formed. From thoughts words are formed with deeds following, both good and/or evil, depending on the treasures of the heart. The words that dwell in us are creative of our character manifested in our manner of living.
Mat 12:35,36,37 “A good man out of the good treasure of the heart bringeth forth good things, and an evil man out of the evil treasure bringeth forth evil things. But I say unto you, That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment. For by thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned.”
The heart is the treasury whence issue the good or evil that the lips utter or the hands perform; and as our words and works are effects from the good or evil intentions of the will, and of the trite or false thoughts of the understanding, so do they contain them. Our words and works are reproductive of the good or evil that produces them; they, like fruit, have the seed within themselves that produce trees of the same quality as that by which they were produced. The tree which exists from a seed, exists again in the seed that it produces. In the small seed treasured up in the heart of the fruit the whole tree is comprehended; its whole history is written its whole experience is expressed. So in our words and works our whole being is embodied But to read our entire life and character in what we say and do, is the prerogative of Him only who is to judge every man according to his works. Men and angels may see something of one’s true character in his works, but these are only gleams of light from Him who is the light itself. I pray that each of us become trees of righteousness, producing good fruit from out of which good, reproductive seed is brought forth.
The Lord therefore proceeds to say, But I say unto you, That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment. These words are spoken with immediate reference to the sin of which the Pharisees had been guilty. They are designed to teach us how carefully we should guard the door of our lips. Not only blasphemy against the Holy Spirit and a word against the Son of man, but every idle word that men speak shall be brought into judgment. We are not to include in these idle words everything we say that is not solemn or important. Words may be trivial and yet innocent. We are to make a distinction, too, between the lighter conversation that serves as an intellectual recreation, and the idle talk that forms the business and delight of life. One of the most pernicious and sinful kinds of idle words is that of using the language of Holy Scripture to garnish idle talk. When seriously and judiciously introduced, the language of Scripture serves both to adorn and invigorate human composition; but nothing is so indicative of bad taste and the absence of true religious sentiment, and, above all, of the want of reverence for the most sacred things, as to drag in the language of Scripture to give a quaint or ludicrous turn of expression. One great evil arising out of this is, that sacred language becomes so connected with profane ideas, that their Separation is a matter of difficulty even in the other life.
The Lord continues; For by thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned. That is but a part of the doctrine that we shall be judged according to our works. Words are acts, and come forth from the will as much as deeds. Whatever any one wills from the love principle, he wills to do, to think, to understand, and to speak. Words are verbal acts, and they reflect the character as faithfully and completely as the deeds which the hand performs. Every word we utter, as well as every act we do, is inscribed on the memory as distinctly and much more indelibly than if written in a book, and will be read aloud on the day of our judgment, as if it came from the hands instead of the lips. How much good and how much evil, how much sweetness and how much bitterness, flow from the tongue! How much may the tongue do to enlighten and comfort, to promote harmony and peace; and how much may it do to darken counsel and disturb peace, to create discord and contention! In the words which our Lord addressed to the Pharisees there is something deserving of our particular attention. In nothing is Christianity more distinguished from Judaism than in considering words and actions as deriving their character from the motive which gives them birth – the end they are intended to serve. The motive is not measured by the act, but the act by the motive. Yet motive is not the only thing taken into account. The will, as the motive power of the mind, does not of itself determine the character of an action. The understanding, as the directing power, has its share in every act performed. It is to include both these faculties, which are united in everything we say or do, that both words and works are spoken of as certain to be brought into judgment. Good and evil are not of the will alone, nor are truth and falsity of the understanding alone, although we ascribe them distinctively to these faculties. Good and evil are produced by the will acting through the understanding, and truth and falsity are produced by the understanding acting from the will. Both faculties are concerned in producing every word we speak and every action we do, and both are included in every word and action when produced. Whether, therefore, we are judged by our words or works, or by both, we are judged as to our whole mind and life.
Once after a notable miracle which caused me to marvel, the Lord spoke to me, “You must guard your words.” I understood the meaning of that admonishment as I recalled the words of the Apostle:
Eph 5:4 Neither filthiness, nor foolish talking, nor jesting, which are not convenient: but rather giving of thanks
If you will notice verses before and after this fourth verse puts foolish talking and jesting on the same par with idolaters, whore monger, fornication, and all uncleanness and covetousness for whom there is no inheritance in the kingdom of God.
Without being fully aware of it, often it is possible to be caught up in frivolity and foolishness when we are in the company of others who are themselves are so inclined. Thus, we put ourselves in spiritual jeopardy and then wonder why our prayers are not answered.
The Lord spoke to me, “You must guard your words.”
My son and I decided to go to town which is about a half hour drive. My four year old grandson decided that he was going to follow us on his little bicycle with training wheels. We slowly started down the very long driveway as he followed behind as hard as he could. We were amused at his determination to follow our vehicle to town but I got out and told him that there was no way that he could do that and he must ride with us. I told him to lay his bicycle down by the trees near the driveway, that it would be safe.
I insisted but he started to cry. When I inquired of the reason that he was crying, he said, “I can’t do that because the bears would get my bicycle.” I finally persuaded him to lay his bicycle aside after I assured him that the bears could not ride off on his little bicycle because the rabbits would guard and watch over his treasured bike. With that assurance, he laid his bicycle down and rode with us to town.
When we arrived back, we looked for his bicycle. There it was where it was left near the trees with four rabbits around it. Seldom do we ever see even one rabbit, but here were four around his bicycle. It was then that I heard the voice of the Lord speaking, “You must guard your words.”
Similar things have happened before, some of which I relate in my book, entitled “Living Live in the Supernatural” available on Amazon.
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