The Words From Our Hearts by Lisa Burkhardt Worley

            “You know, Jesus wept.”  Did I just hear the woman right?  Yes, I was eavesdropping on a telephone conversation at our neighborhood workout facility.  It’s difficult to avoid hearing what anyone else is doing at this small exercise facility. Private conversations probably need to take place outside the room. But as this woman mentioned Jesus while tackling the Stairmaster, I immediately labeled her a Christian.

            After she hung up, she then began having a Godly conversation with a man also working out at the gym.  She had been praying for him to get a job and her prayers were answered. My first thought was, “Someone has taken over my job as the workout room evangelist!”  My second thought was, “This conversation is music to my ears.  It is so rare to hear people talking about the Lord in public anymore.”  We don’t always realize others are listening and our conversations in themselves are a witness to those around us.

            Our words say a lot about our character. Luke 6:45 says, A good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and an evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. For the mouth speaks what the heart is full of.

            As a Christian, what does your heart look like?  Do you watch your language or would people never know the difference between your heart and the heart of a non-believer?  I am stickler about language and know that a profane or unkind word out of my mouth could destroy my witness with anyone within earshot. I also carry that philosophy into my home.

            If you have trouble with what comes out of your mouth, whether it’s profanity, criticism or angry words, you may need to do a heart and mind check. What are you reading? What are you watching on television?  What movies are you seeing? What negative thoughts are rolling around in your head?

            The truth is what you put into your mind and heart will always find its way out of your mouth.   Proverbs 4:23-24 confirms:  Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it.  Keep your mouth free of perversity; keep corrupt talk far from your lips.

            God can help you clean up your heart. Just be willing to make a change and ask him to do it for you. He wants someone to know you’re a Christian just by listening to your conversation. You may never know the impact it will have on the one who’s listening in.