Talk is Cheap

Matt 15:8 "These people draw near to Me with their mouth, and honor Me with their lips, but their heart is far from Me."

In other words: "Talk is cheap." Jesus was putting it to the scribes and Pharisees. He was chastising them because they paid more attention to their tradition than the commandments of God. He said that they talked a good game but when it came to actually practicing and doing what God commanded them to do, they ignored it. They did what they wanted. They sounded good, they sounded holy, they sounded righteous but deep down inside they didn't care about God…they only did what they wanted to do to keep their power and authority over people.

The best thing that I can do when I have an opportunity to speak in front of people is to check my heart. Do I really believe what I am saying? Better yet, do I really practice what I am preaching? Or is it all a big show? A big front? An image that I have to maintain? That is where these guys were. They wanted to appear righteous so they prayed lengthy, repetitious prayers to be seen by men. They proclaimed to everyone when they were fasting. They wanted glory. Where am I in all of this? When I pray or speak on Sunday or other events, is it a big show for me or for God?

This is so easy to do. We want to get involved in some ministry. The question that we need to ask is: "Why?" Why are we motivated to do what we want to do? Is it a genuine heart for God or is it a desire to control? Is it a desire to have power? Is it a desire to say: "This is mine…I have done this."? The line sometimes gets blurred. We walk into something with the best intentions. We sound good when we explain what we want to do and our motives for doing it, but when it actually happens, we have a tendency to get territorial. We have this desire to hang on to it like we own it when we really do not. It is God's. He is in control. He is Lord. The problem is, when we get territorial and when we get involved in a power grab, it really shows our hearts. It shows the inner man…and it is not pretty.

Oh God, make my heart pure. Make my motives pure. I ask that my heart, my mouth and my life all be on the same page…the page of giving you all the glory. "He must increase, but I must decrease."