Transformation through God's Word

Matthew 12:33-37. Two things catch my attention.

1. Jesus says out of the abundance of the mouth the heart speaks.
   This phrase is thrown around a bit, often as a way to make someone feel bad about what they've said. There are times when a friend says something that is offensive or hurts. The first thing I do is to evaluate that against what they normally say. If it's consistent then...'out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks'. However, if it's a one-off then I don't hold it against them. Maybe they've had a bad day or the plethora of other things that could contribute. Or....just maybe I had it coming.
   
   Then there's the concept that out of the abundance of my heart my mouth speaks. Oh boy. I'm currently in a work environment that uses Lotus Notes. I don't like Lotus Notes. I come from an Exchange background and often when I'm having any sort of trouble in Notes you'll hear me say 'Notes sucks'. Now, if I say that often enough I'm liable to slip up and say it when I shouldn't, like when I'm in front of the Notes admin. That would be offensive to him. And if I think and say that about a software program, how much more important is it when it comes to people?
   
   
2. ...people will give an account for every careless word they speak.
   So, it's important to pay attention to what we're thinking, as it will manifest itself through our words. Jesus says here that we will all have to give an account for some of the careless words we say...no every careless word we've ever spoke. WOW! I think I've spoken enough careless words to last multiple people's lifetimes. I cannot really afford any more. When believers speak carelessly it's not only the other person they offend. Sometimes we are another person's only representation of the church or Christ. When we say something careless in this situation, those people within earshot can be turned off to the church and to God altogether.