In 2008 our refrigerator went out. We quickly shuffled salvaged food to our neighbors and high tailed it to the store. Because we were moving we purchased the cheapest one we could find. So cheap the new owners didn’t want it and so we took it with us. For the next 7 years, Cheapo remained in our kitchen until we finally purchased the one a girl can only dream of. I loved her so much when we moved I had the “fridge is coming with us” in the contract.
She has been a part of our family for 6 years with no issues. On the outside she softly purrs like normal. She even still keeps the freezer frozen, butter stays solid and drinks keep cool in the fridge, but she isn’t the same. Milk is beginning to sour sooner while the fruit will bruise and mold well before it should.
I just keep hearing Boyz II Men softly playing in the background, “it’s so hard to say good-bye to yesterday…”
Now you hear it too, don’t you? My handy husband pulled it out, cleaned behind it, removed the back vent, and even watched some YouTube videos to tinker some more. But the problem is internal and better left to the experts.
If you read last week’s post, I Need A Doctor, then you will know we have sought Refrigerating healing. Not from the Healer, but in the form of a LG Repairman.
Matthew 12:33; 35-37
33 “Make a tree good and its fruit will be good, or make a tree bad and its fruit will be bad, for a tree is recognized by its fruit.
35 A good man brings good things out of the good stored up in him, and an evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in him. 36 But I tell you that everyone will have to give account on the day of judgment for every empty word they have spoken. 37 For by your words you will be acquitted, and by your words you will be condemned.”
Just as our fridge is identified for the job it does, we too are identified by what we produce.
We all know that person who we keep at a “safe distance,” never revealing too much personal information in fear of how it will be used. Or the person we would do anything to avoid as destruction seems to always surround them. We may not know a person’s innards but we can see it through who surrounds them, the actions they take, and words they use.
But take a minute to think less about others and reflect for a minute on yourself.
Who do you choose to surround yourself with?
What actions do you take?
What words do you use?
Hurts a little bit, doesn’t it? I know. Me too.
In America, July 4 is the celebration of our Freedom, when we broke free from Tyranny (sorry all our British friends). With this freedom comes many parts, including the freedom of speech.
In another version it uses the word “idle” in vs 36. 36 And I tell you this, you must give an account on judgment day for every idle word you speak. A synonym for idle is loaf or lazy. When are times you have chosen the easy way out? Has there ever been a time you should have spoken up but just felt like it was easier not to?
Take parenting for example, there have been many times it has been far easier for me to not address, or simply ignore, the bad behavior of my child. It is easier because taking the time to correctly address the wrong doing, make amends, and deal with the consequences is exhausting. Even time- outs for a toddler sound super easy, until you have to actually wrangle the child, sometimes even chasing them down, to remain in the time out spot until the timer goes off. That is the physically exhausting part. But the emotionally exhausting is the crying, screaming, and then the repeat of the action that got them there in the first place.
When we are in a situation where the Holy Spirit is guiding us to speak up and we choose not to, we will have to give an account for that. Ouch. I am stepping on my own feet here.
But our freedom of speech isn’t to “call out people” or to the cancel culture our society has created. No, our words hold strength and power. How we choose to use this freedom can either free us or imprison us.
Just as the fruit tree will produce a fruit that is either good to eat or bad to eat, we too produce words that will either sustain those around us or harm them.
Have you ever said something to someone that you immediately wished you could take back? The problem with words is you can’t take them back. You can certainly repent and ask for forgiveness, but the words you spoke will never be forgotten. The words we choose in anger and sorrow will affect everyone who hears it. I am guessing each one of us can remember something a parent said to us in anger that we will always carry. Most likely the parent doesn’t remember it, because it was said in anger, but those on the receiving end do. This is why it is so important to hold our words in moments such as those.
So how do we become a tree that produces good fruit?
Let me say this, we are all sinners and we will still have fruit that will be too bruised or buggy to eat, but this doesn’t mean we should give up. To be someone that produces good fruit requires us to be in His Word. By making the time to go to the Source daily, meditating on His Word, and praying will slowly begin to change who you are. You will be surprised when your child does something shocking, like CUT HER HAIR, and instead of the go to “yell fest,” you are able to hold your tongue and calmly address the behavior.
The time is today. Make time so you can begin to produce the best fruit possible.
