It just slipped out - not really you, or the real you? If we don't ask & act, nothing changes

When we say phrases such as, “He caught me off guard,” or, “That bad word just slipped out,” we refer to the truth that our outer actions aren’t accidental—they mirror our character within. When regrettable words “slip out,” we didn’t have time to dress up what was in our heart before it came tumbling out of our mouth. 

Unsavory thoughts leak out in objectionable words and behavior. Such “slips” reveal publicly the private inner workings of our heart. Jesus explained that “the mouth speaks what the heart is full of” (Luke 6:45, NIV). Our task, then, is to cooperate with God in being changed on the inside so that we take on the personality of Christ. 

As we let what is stored in our heart be transformed, we behave as Jesus would behave. If our insides are renovated, what comes out of us will bring about peace and righteousness. We won’t have to try to love. Unloving thoughts and actions simply won’t occur to us, just as loving ones will begin to spring up without our awareness. We’ll smile at an enemy automatically. It won’t occur to us to argue. Instead, we’ll pray inwardly for the disagreeable person in front of us. To cooperate with public greed or dishonesty will offend us to the core, and we’ll find ourselves unable to do it.  
TODAY’S EXPERIMENT  
What sort of heart would you like to have? Dream big: patient, kind, not self-seeking, not easily irritated (see 1 Corinthians 13:4-5). What actions would flow from such a large heart? Close your eyes and think about these things. Form these dreams and desires into a prayer. If such dreams scare you, admit that to God. Will I get my needs met? Will I be walked on? If you have these fears, admit them to God and ask him for courage. Plead with God to change you on the inside. Picture yourself as one through whom “justice [can] roll down like waters, and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream” (Amos 5:24, NRSV).

Johnson, Jan; Willard, Dallas (2014-01-31T22:58:59). Renovation of the Heart in Daily Practice: Experiments in Spiritual Transformation (Redefining Life) . The Navigators. Kindle Edition. 


 

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