Getting to Know Jesus #19

In Luke 6, Jesus has just talked about not judging others so harshly, and instead doing some self-examination of our actions and our attitudes. He then goes on to say:

43 “For no good tree bears bad fruit, nor again does a bad tree bear good fruit, 44 for each tree is known by its own fruit. For figs are not gathered from thornbushes, nor are grapes picked from a bramble bush. 45 The good person out of the good treasure of his heart produces good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure produces evil, for out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks.

We need to examine our words - what we say and how we say it. This will help us evaluate what is in our hearts and minds, so we can go deeper in our search for good and evil.  Most of us have heard a clueless person turn to ask those around "What did I say?" after offending someone else with their words; maybe you were the one who said this.  The problem here is that the speaker has often predetermined that he/she has said nothing wrong, and the offended party is the problem.  We need to ask ourselves that question, not others, and hopefully, if we do, others around us will have the courage and love to answer us honestly, and we will have the grace to accept their observation.  Search your words for evil, and pull them out at the root.