The Root Of The Problem

God has made a provision in scripture for the healing of our tongue. The first step to acquiring this healing is to identify the root of the problem. According to scripture, the root of the problem affecting our tongue lies within the heart. In the book of Matthew 12:33-35, Jesus says, "The heart is the tree and the words are the fruit." Simply stated, the words that come out of our mouth, whether we mean what we say or not, indicate the condition of the heart.

I have heard many people say, " I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to say that." Well, according to scripture, you say out of your mouth what is in your heart in abundance. If deceit, jealousy, lust, and hatred are in your heart my dear friend, it is what you will talk about over and over.

Consider the following example: If you accidentally spill some water from a pail on the kitchen floor and you notice that the water is dirty and greasy, you don’t need to examine the inside of the pail. You automatically know that the pail is dirty and greasy by examining the contents. This same principle applies to the heart. If evil, impure, unbelieving and corrupt words come out of your mouth, it doesn’t matter how much you confess to loving the Lord, the condition of your heart is evil and corrupt.

The following comparison from the writers of Matthew and James give a good example using an olive tree and a spring of water.

The writer of James warns that an olive tree will never bear figs because the kind of tree indicates the type of fruit produced. Also, with the water he warns that the appearance of the water indicates the condition of the spring.

The parallel in the previous comparison represents our two natures. The corrupt tree is the old man and the good tree represented our recreated self, or the new man. Out of the old man, who is evil and corrupt, will never come good fruit. Likewise, the newly, recreated being will never produce evil fruit.

The two potential problems confronting the believer with regard to the tongue are the words we say with our corrupt nature and the fruit produced from the spiritual or recreated self.

The Bible contains countless passages that support these comparisons. "Out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks." We are entitled to all that Our Heavenly Father gives us. We are also responsible for what we say and how we use these gifts. Esau, for example, was entitled to the birthright because he was the elder son. His choice to sell it to his younger brother cost him dearly. Biblical historians comment that Esau’s choice to sell the birthright was a direct result of a heart of bitterness. They also argue that this root of bitterness brought about the bitter fruit that was produced in his life.

Many other scriptures support the fact that out of the heart flows the issues of life. Whatever the condition of a man’s heart, it will be manifested through his mouth. All of these statements or excuses about "getting up on the wrong side of the bed," are scripturally unfounded.

We are incapable of transforming our corrupt selves and the words we speak. Therefore, in order to get to the root of the problem, we must do as the prophet David. We must ask the Lord to create within us a clean heart, and renew within us the right spirit. By doing so, we will be able to produce good fruit because the condition of our heart will be pure.

By Naomi J. Brown