The heart knows

I have probably shared before that my "button" is disloyalty. Absolutely nothing sets me off like someone who tells me one thing to my face and tells someone else something else behind my back. Or, for someone to act as a true friend but when I am not around, to bash and bad-mouth. I pray for these types of people, and I try not to socialize with them much.We all have our "buttons". For some, it may be condescension, for some it may be complete devotion, for me it is disloyalty.

I remember a story a pastor told once. A pastor friend of his and he were traveling somewhere by car, when another driver swerved too close and cut them off. The pastor friend, who was driving, let out a string of obscenities at the careless driver. After a very awkward moment of silence, the pastor friend looked at his pastor friend, sitting in the passenger seat, and said, "I'm so sorry. I don't know where that came from." To this, the pastor replied, "If it wasn't in you, it couldn't come out."

Today's word is Psalm 15:1a - 2, ESV, which reads, "Who shall dwell on Your Holy Hill? He who walks blamelessly and does what is right and speaks truth in his heart."

The Bible tells us that from the heart the mouth speaks. Whether we like to admit it or not, what we say about others isn't just some mindless rhetoric; it is what is truly in our hearts. I have to try to keep that in mind for myself. I want my heart to speak truth and to speak encouragement and to speak life.

Now, we would be wrong not to share with someone that they are doing wrong and not following GOD'S plan or will. However, how we share that with someone is how we truly feel in our heart. We are to speak the truth in love. We do need to help others get back on the path if they are wandering, but we must do it with a sincere, restorative heart. Be loyal. Be honest. Be true. Speak the truth in love; the heart knows.

Be Blessed,
Mickey T