A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart brings forth evil. For out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks.
This verse will always make me think of my Grandpa Jim because as my Dad says, if you jostle him a hymn comes out. He is in a constant state of sloshing out goodness. If you imagine your heart as a bucket, full to the brim with something sweet, when some of it gets spilled, it will still be sweet. On the other hand if your heart is full to the brim with bitterness, when you are jostled in some way, bitterness will come out.
We all know what it is like to accidentally slosh someone who is full of bitterness. Maybe you are clogging up the line at the grocery store and they are harumphing around at you. Maybe they are flipping you off as they make a traffic blunder. Maybe you just happened to be near when someone backed up the dump-truck of resentments and began unloading. But whatever the case we know that it is out of the abundance of the heart that the mouth speaks.
When you live in constant contact with people, you will have ample opportunity to see what kind of thing is coming out when you are jostled. If you have children, it is like hiring full time jostlers. People with new and creative methods for finding out what is in mom’s heart. They specialize in the unexpected, in the surprise splash. And this is why we should be thankful for jostlers. Because in reality when ugly things come out, it wasn’t put there by them. Our children do not create the frustration, they reveal it. Our spouses do not make us selfish, they reveal our selfishness. Difficult situations are not where ugliness is born, it is what makes the ugliness we have been nurturing come to light.
When people bump us, it is an opportunity to evaluate what we have been storing up. We are children of God. We have new hearts. What are we doing treating this ugly junk like treasure? Anything that we make on our own – that comes from our natural selves is going to be worthless. It is going to be foul. But because we have the love of Christ and forgiveness of sins, we are free to store up great treasure. We are free to pack the storehouse of our souls with valuable treasure – with things that will bless others.
Through God’s great kindness to us, we have all that it takes to become the kind of women who bless everyone who imposes on them. We can be people who splash out with mercy and joy and patience and love. We can overflow God’s kindness to us on all those around us. We have an abundance of good treasure – but only through Christ.
So if you notice yourself being snarky or bitter or resentful or accusing – ask God to clean out your storehouse. Ask Him to stock the shelves with the kind of treasure that He wants you to share with others. And then rejoice in every opportunity to share it. Be thankful for the jostles that give you an opportunity to share the good treasure you have been given.
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Amen. Good reminder.
Thank you. Needed this!
The verse you referenced I memorized at an early age because your grandma quoted it at me so much, usually when I tried to say that I was only kidding. It is a great mental image of sloshing good things onto people if that is what we have in our hearts.
If you check references to ‘overflow’ or ‘abound’ in your Bible you will be splashing people around you with things like: grace, thankfulness, joy, love, hope, peace, generosity and comfort.
And if you don’t have children, just spend a lot of time around malfunctioning technology for frequent jostling.
Thank you. Great mental picture – the sloshing bucket.
This could not have been more well-timed for me. Thank you!
yes…thank you…exactly what God is working out in me right now…(and i love the photo)
Praise God for this article! A timely reminder… It convicts me…
Ouch! 🙂 Thanks you so much for this great reminder! I have alot of plowing of the heart to do. So thankful that my husband it such a great example of this and so patient with my shortcomings.
I love what you said about your Grandfather. What great shoulders to stand on! Thanks for sharing once again.
oh! man you hit it. Thanks for the great direction.
Ruh-roh…just read this verse this morning! It appears the Lord is trying to get my attention…:) Thank you for helping Him!
This may just be my favorite post so far! I can really understand the sloshy bucket analogy. Brilliant! I’ve forwarded it to everyone I know and reposted on Facebook. 🙂 Thank you!
Thank you! That one definitely smarted. Which, as always, was what I needed. 🙂
Love the picture! Looks exactly like what my three year old would do!
The analogy is amazingly helpful !
So, so good. Thank you for allowing the Holy Spirit to speak through you to the body of Christ. Your books and posts have been such an encouragement to me. And I, too, love the picture–reminds me of my house! 🙂
Great reminder .. Is there any way I can subscribe to your blog ?
This morning I woke up feeling so restless. Instead of feeling refreshed and encouraged when I sat down to spend time with the Lord, I felt distracted and found it so difficult to settle my heart. Something was in the way. Thank you for posting a convicting and encouraging devotion. And in the same way that I have been blessed by “Parenting the Little Years,” your illustrations here of the bucket are poignant and useful to me. God used this to speak hope to my heart. Thank you!
Truth! Thank you.
Thank you! I have had some ugly sloshing lately. You’re ministry to moms is such a blessing. Please don’t stop!
Really encouraging today. Thank you!!!!
I’m printing this out for daily encouragement. Like your grandfather, my husband sloshes out goodness almost always. Me–not so much, but I’m working on it!
I had to laugh the other day when I realized that God gave me an abundance of jostlers, since I obviously need frequent jostling for my good and His glory. Thank you for taking the time to write these devotionals, I know what a commitment that takes and it is a great blessing.
Thank you for sharing the wisdom and insight God has bestowed on you. It is such a blessing to others!! We all need these gentle reminders. Your writing is so witty, tangible, convicting and encouraging. Blessings to you!