by RTF Assistant Editor Halee Matthews

“The good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart,
and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart.
For out of the overflow of his heart his mouth speaks.” ~ Luke 6:45 (NIV)

Sometimes it’s easy to neglect what we put in our hearts. We get so focused on our actions and doing good things that it can be easy to forget the source of our actions.

Then we end up leaving the door to our hearts wide open and letting evil take root. Or we keep it so tightly shut that any good in our hearts slowly dies of starvation and evil fills the void. Either way, something resides and grows in our hearts. We are never empty.

Think of it like a garden. If you take care of it– plant vegetables, water them, and constantly pull the weeds out, it will thrive. But if you neglect it, there will be growth, but it will be weeds instead of veggies.

The same applies to your heart. If you don’t constantly plant good in your heart, evil will spring up like weeds. If you allow your heart to be taken over by weeds of evil, there is no room for good. Just like in a garden, whatever you plant and cultivate in your heart is what will grow.

The next time you’re about to speak or act, check out your heart. Is it filled to overflowing with good, with Christ and Christ-like qualities?

If you’re not ready to let the world see the condition of your heart, you might want to keep your mouth shut. Every time you say or do something, you show people the garden of your heart. Whatever you’ve grown will be evident. You can’t get vegetables from a garden full of weeds!