Flames of Destruction, Part One, MT 12:33-37

That old burnt house I told all of you about. Guess what…it is still burnt! You have probably seen it by now. There is nothing that can be done which will cause that house to not be burned anymore. You see, that is the problem with fire. Once it burns something that something is permanently damaged.

This is what happens when we use our words carelessly. When we use our words to abuse or to judge the character, intentions, or motivations of another. Or when we use our words harshly through an attitude of aggression. Sometimes our words are flames of destruction…and sometimes our attitudes, or, the manner in which we use our words are flames of destruction. Words mean nothing without the non verbal language through which they are transmitted. So, both of these need to be considered.

Matthew 12:33-37 says this:
33"Make a tree good and its fruit will be good, or make a tree bad and its fruit will be bad, for a tree is recognized by its fruit. 34You brood of vipers, how can you who are evil say anything good? For out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks. 35The good man brings good things out of the good stored up in him, and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in him. 36But I tell you that men will have to give account on the day of judgment for every careless word they have spoken. 37For by your words you will be acquitted, and by your words you will be condemned."


Is it possible to say that a person who uses their words harshly with others, who gossips, who complains, who slanders, whose speech is filled with negativity, who is agressive and harsh…is it possible or reasonable, according to this passage in the Bible, to say that a person such as this has a good heart?

I am especially convicted about the phrase “careless word”. That I will have to give an account for the careless speech that I let flow from my lips. Speech that is a window into my heart. Speech that may have at times been slanderous, or gossipy, or back biting. How frightening!

One of my favorites (not really) is when we use our speech to say negative things about someone else, their character, their motivations, and their intentions…and then we shroud it in super-spiritual language…as if we are “concerned” about them. Or that we need to “pray” for them.

If my speech is not pure, neither is my heart. If I find my speech filled with negativity and harshness I need to look into my own heart, not into the life of the one I am criticising.

"Lord I pray that you would help my “tree” to be good. That the “fruit” of my lips would be good. That my heart would be good. And that I would watch my “careless words” closely. Forgive us where we have failed you in this area. And have mercy on us for the way we speak about our fellow man. Amen"