A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart brings forth evil. For out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks. Luke 6:45 (NKJV)
In the Epic story “The Lord of the Rings,” Smeagol is possessed by an obsession for his “precious,” a powerful ring that captured his attention while still a hobbit. But as he gave himself over to this ring, it began to change him… it changed his appetites, his longings, his priorities… After a time, he was no longer recognisable as a hobbit, but had transformed into Gollum, whose sole passion and obsession was finding this ring and having it in his possession. It had gotten into his heart and tainted his life bit by bit until it overflowed with nothing but its pursuit.
What you plant in your heart grows. Sounds logical… it's much like planting a garden in that sunny spot in your backyard. If you plant roses, you’ll grow roses… If you plant pumpkin seeds, you’ll grow about a tonne of pumpkin. You’ll never get sunflowers from thorn bushes or capsicums from weeds… You grow what you plant. If you can’t remember what you’ve planted into the ground, come harvest you’ll know by the fruit of the plant that has grown from that seed.
Your words, not just what you say but how you say them, are the fruit of what you’ve allowed to take root in your heart and has consequently grown there. Just as Smeagol allowed the power of the ring to plant itself deep within his heart and eventually overflowing out of his life, whatever captures you, whatever you arrest with your attention and time, take on board and store in your heart, will eventually show itself out of your mouth.
If you need a change, start with what seeds you plant into your heart. Throw away the seeds of hatred and bitterness. Those plants bubble out of your mouth with taunts and judgements. Plant instead seeds of hope, seeds of blessing and love… these plants grow into words of compassion and kindness.
Take note of what comes out of your mouth today… maybe it will lead you to dig up that old garden bed, reach for some new seeds and plant with kindness, hope and others in mind.
