I am sure that everyone has heard this or a variation on this expression before. I know that I have used it to describe situations a number of times. In short it is intended to describe a situation or circumstance where too much of something is trying to be compressed into finite space. To be honest I usually use the expression to describe situations at work, since it seems that there is never a good way to put off things until the sack will hold more.
The outcome of an exercise like putting 10 lbs of something in a 5 lb bag is pretty simple. You will either have whatever it is you are "sacking" overflowing out of the sack and into the environment OR you will burst the seams of the sack and everything will flow out into the environment
The scripture that is in the title talks about how the heart is the source of what the mouth speaks. The word that is translated abundance has a meaning that includes to exceed a fixed number of measure. In other words it's the overflow. The heart is a vessel. Whether you consider the heart as the mind, the spirit, the soul, or the sense of physical life, the heart has a finite capacity. There is a limit to how much the heart can contain at any given time. That is not to say that the size of the vessel cannot be increased to accommodate more but at some point it will overflow with what it is filled with.
What it is that goes into our hearts will inevitably be made manifest. It may take some time to build up enough of a reserve so that our outward life will begin to evidence the inward storehouse. If you think in very natural terms, the fact that a person eats a steady diet of foods that provide little nutritional value it is only a matter of time before it is obvious to everyone. People may not know that I am eating an entire package of double filling sandwich cookies each night as I play video games and drink cola, but they know that I am doing something that is making me fat!
It may not be obvious to everyone why my life is showing some of the things that it does, but they will have a sense for whether I am putting wholesome things or corrupt things into my life(heart). I can fill myself up each day "in secret" but eventually what is on the inside will show up on the outside. Jesus called out the religious leaders of the day when he said, " You snakes, how can you say good things when you are evil?" They were speaking words that were not consistent with the things that they had filled their lives with.
What is it that makes a person Evil like the scripture in the title says (Matt 12:35)? If we follow the previous verse as a guide it is, or mostly likely is, a result of many incremental deposits into the inner man/woman. Out of the abundance of the heart, our lives are broadcast to everyone around us. The evil that is talked about here means a number of things, all of which make it clear to me why they are considered "evil":
- full of labours, annoyances, hardships
- pressed and harassed by labours
- bringing toils, annoyances, perils;
- of a time full of peril to Christian faith and steadfastness; causing pain and trouble
- bad, of a bad nature or condition
- in a physical sense: diseased or blind
- in an ethical sense: evil wicked, bad
- A steady diet of things that look, taste, smell or behave like those things in the definition will only make a person evil from the inside out. There are an abundance of things in the environment today that are just that. I am not going to put down a list of the things to avoid or a list of "thou shalt nots". No, if we are serious about our relationship with the Savior then we will need only the gentle nudging of the Holy Spirit to impress on us the goodness or the rottenness of the things we consume. We are given the gift of His Spirit because of His promise and our obedience to the Gospel so that our lives will be empowered. With that empowerment can come an ability to distinguish fresh from foul, good from evil, right from wrong. This discerning comes from a steady diet of the Word of God. Psalm 119:9 asks how a young person can and will keep themselves clean? The answer is by Obeying His Word.
- Proverbs 4:20-27 will close out my thoughts for today. I won't write them out for you here - you can open your Bibles and read them (or you can follow the link I have attached to the reference). The instruction of these verses gives clear direction to us on making the kinds of deposits and eating the kind of diet that will make us strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. This diet will enrich our lives to the point that we will not be able to contain the abundance of His goodness. Out it will come into the world where we are and it will not return without bringing back a return and accomplishing what He wills and pleases. That's the kind of 5 pound bag I want to be. One that cannot contain the goodness of God and that spills it out for others and for the Most Highs good pleasure.
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