I was a pretty "funny" girl in high school. You know what made me funny? I'd pretend that I was in love with the most unpopular guys in school. My friends thought it was hilarious. We code-named one guy in particular "Puddin" (I guess because of the way his stomach jiggled), and we sent notes back and forth about how much I liked "Puddin."
At the time, I didn't think twice about it. After all, it wasn't like I was calling him names to his face! I don't even think he knew about our "fun" at his expense. But Someone else did. And He wasn't laughing:
"I tell you, on the day of judgment people will give account for every careless word they speak, for by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned" (Matt. 12:36–37).
Ouch, ouch, ouch, ouch, ouch! What's the big deal about my words? Why do I have to give account for every single syllable? Well, the verses just before help us answer that:
"Either make the tree good and its fruit good, or make the tree bad and its fruit bad, for the tree is known by its fruit. You brood of vipers! How can you speak good, when you are evil? For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. The good person out of his good treasure brings forth good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure brings forth evil" (Matt. 12:33–35).
My careless words are such a big deal to God because they reveal the state of my heart. If my heart is good, then like a good tree it will produce good fruit, or good words. I think Nancy Leigh DeMoss, co-author of Lies Young Women Believe, explains it well when she says:
Christ calls us to something deeper and more fulfilling than just being a pretty good person. He invites us to be transformed into His image. Trying to do good things apart from Christ is like gluing oranges onto a dead tree. We can try to attach all the fruit we want, but it doesn't change the tree. In the same way, God isn't impressed by some good works tacked on to a dead person. He wants to make us alive, like a growing tree that produces real fruit.
Yep, my humor told the real story of the condition of my heart. I was a dead tree in need of His breath of life. As you look carefully at your own words, what do they reveal about your heart? Are you a living tree or a dead tree?
