Have you ever considered your words as fruit? Before you think me completely daft, stop and consider. The words that you speak do produce – they produce feelings and thoughts in the people you are speaking to. The response from others give evidence of the kind of fruit we produce. Feelings and thoughts are the fruits from your words. So what kind of fruit are you producing – good, bad, rotten, healthy????
In Luke 6:43-45 Jesus talks about fruit and that we are known by our fruit. Do our words produce the fruit of hurt feelings? the light bulb of understanding? Were they words of sarcasm, encouragement, spiteful, uplifting, etc.? In another place in scripture we are told that we will give an accounting for the words we speak (Matthew 12:36). And still in another place it talks about the tongue not being tamed (James 3:6-10). All this says, to me, that we need to listen to what we say. Minimally it will tell us if we are communicating what we intend to.
I’ve always been impressed with the scripture that indicates God’s view, the tremendous importance He places on words when He says that His words always produce what He sends them to do – they never come back void (Isaiah 55:11). We need to give that kind of importance to our words. What kind of fruit are you producing? Luke 6:43 assures us that a good tree does not bear bad fruit nor the reverse. The other point is that we are known by our own fruit. (6:44) that a grape vine we won’t produce apples nor will a orange tree produce figs. This should ‘logically’ lead us to consider how and what we say.
We really need to look at the impact, the affect of our words. As I’ve said, our words give evidence of the kind of fruit we produce. The basis of our evidence really is our heart. Luke 6:45 tells us that “…out of the abundance of the heart (his) mouth speaks.” Are our words light? Do they speak truth? Do you see what your words are producing? What are we speaking? Good treasure or bad? Listen to your words… you’ll see your fruit.
