Out of the Overflow…

January 8th, 2008 | Posted in » Baptist Issues, Christian Living, Devotions / Bible Studies, My Life / Family

I was looking back over some of the things I’d written from various times of Bible study over the years, and ran across a devotion on Luke 6:43-45 I’d written almost five years back. In thinking over what I’d written, it occurred to me that this passage might be somewhat applicable to much of the rhetoric, debate, and conflict in Baptist life recently. Or, maybe it’s just applicable to me.

Regardless… here’s the passage:

Luke 6:43-45
⁴³No good tree bears bad fruit, nor does a bad tree bear good fruit. ⁴⁴Each tree is recognized by its own fruit. People do not pick figs from thornbushes, or grapes from briers. ⁴⁵The good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. For out of the overflow of his heart his mouth speaks.

I’d originally written the following:

I don’t think this passage needs much explanation. Think about it a bit, then ask yourself the following:

• What’s coming out of my mouth?
• What are my most frequent topics of discussion?
• What do these things reveal about my heart and what’s most important to me?

These questions are still applicable for self-evaluation… it’s clear, beyond a doubt, that what we talk (or write) about reveals a lot about what’s important to us.

The question I find myself asking tonight is simply this:

If a blog primarily focuses on the conflict in Baptist life, what does it reveal about the author?

If you look at the categories in my left sidebar, you’ll notice pretty quickly that “Baptist Issues” is my number one topic. Worse, were you to look at my bloglines feeds, you’d find the majority of blogs I read deal with Baptist conflict.

While I feel I’ve been civil (for the most part) in the discussions in which I’ve partaken, and I’ve moved away from this almost completely in the last couple months, tonight I simply find myself ashamed of the fact that this has been what has consumed my blogging interests in the past… foolish and stupid arguments (2 Tim. 2:22-26).

No more.