Matthew 15:10-11–Not What Goes In That Defiles; It Is What Comes Out

Matthew 15:10-11–"And He called the people to Him and said to them, 'Hear and understand: it is not what goes into the mouth that defiles a person, but what comes our of the mouth; this defiles a person.'"

Being a person that is prone to vocal verbosity I can speak with a certain amount of experience about the content of this passage.  Speech can be the greatest source of comfort or the greatest source of pain to those around us–depending, of course, upon what we say and how we say it.  This is why it is so important that we would strive to tame our tongues, for they possess a great power for destruction or healing.  The same source of venom is the same source of salve.  We would do well to remember this all the days of our lives.

Dealing with a Fire-starting Tongue

Potentially a genetic disorder passed on generationally, I begrudgingly must admit that I suffer from chronic foot-in-mouth syndrome.  Although my symptoms have been kept in check for the most part, occasionally I find myself falling back into the disease when my mouth starts to speak without consulting my brain.  The net effect of such an endeavor is, without fail, unnecessary relational strain and undue emotional stress due to a tongue that behaves like a vial of Nitroglycerin, ready to break at any moment and ignite my forest of friends and family into a fiery inferno.

James writes that the tongue, though such a small thing in reality, is a powerful thing.  He likens it to the rudder of a ship, that is what guides the ship in all its size from such a seemingly small device (James 3:4).  And, "How great a forest is set ablaze by such a fire (James 3:5)!"  James is telling us that the child of God is to control, to tame their tongue and take care to speak only truth and grace.

The reality is that the tongue can be either the source of the greatest encouragement and love, or it can be the most destructive weapon of all.  The determining factor for how the tongue will be wielded boils down to intent: do we intend to love or do we intend something else.

Over the last several years, I have found it to be the case that when I remain focused on love and on loving those whom God has blessed me with that it is easy to speak only love and kindness.  However, in times that my tongue has been savaging, I have been able to find that the root of such destruction to be traceable to a heart that has not been focused on love but something less, like selfishness, greed, or (most often) pride.  As Jesus spoke, "For out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks (Matt. 12:34).

The words of Paul seem most appropriate here:
"Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouth, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear (Eph. 4:29)."

Truly, the most corrupting and ruinous speech is that which is not loving, gracious, or kind.  And those who have given their lives wholly to the Lord should take this as a call.  To be sure, I still struggle against the flesh in this regard, for my mouth often speaks what I would rather it did not.  But, as aforementioned, speech is but a symptom of the heart.  Therefore, let us determine to keep our hearts fixed upon Christ Jesus so as to keep our lips free from vile, unloving filth and destruction!