Your Heart Is A Waterbottle...

"What comes out of the mouth proceeds from the heart, and this defiles a person. For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false witness, slander. These are what defile a person." ~Matthew 15:16-20.
Constantly in scripture we hear verses related to this topic, it is time we take it to heart.
We as humans have the tendency to explode on a selfish rampage (whether verbal or silent: God sees it the same) when someone will say or do something we do not approve of. Life is wonderful inside our own cubicle of self, but as soon as someone drops a paperclip or takes a stapler out of that cubicle, we lash back with full amunition determined to put the target to justice. After a bit we decide to blameshift, and let out things like: "Well, I wouldn't have thrown the stapler at them if they didn't take it away in the first place! It isn't I with the problem, it is them!" This verse does not tell us "whoever starts the problem, it is their fault completely." No, in fact, it tells us something entirely different and thought provoking: "What comes out of the mouth proceeds from the heart." Do you hear that? Paul David Tripp once had a powerful illustration on this topic that stood out to me. He held a waterbottle in front of a crowd, with the cap open saying "watch this." He then shook the waterbottle and out if it spilled-well-water! It is a fairly simple illustration, yet the meaning digs rather deep. Your heart is that waterbottle, and God will use those around you to show you your sin. They will do things like taking your stapler, it will provoke you-in other words, it will shake you. And when it shakes you, the truth will be revealed as to what was in your heart to begin with. Was it love for the other person saying: "I have five more staplers, use it to your hearts content. If needed-you may keep it." Or was it sin trying to justify that, that is YOUR stapler, and that person really had the nerve to steal it without asking. Reguardless of the petty topic, whether it is a stapler or a hairbrush, the real issue is the heart... We as humans all need to take a step back, fix our hearts before God, and thank Him for putting those people into our lives to shake us, remind us, and show us our sin. So that we might in the end become more like Christ, and reflect His image.