Focus On The Right Thing

Either make the tree good and its fruit good, or make the tree bad and its fruit bad, for the tree is known by its fruit.—Matthew 12:33

For as he thinks within himself, so he is.—Proverbs 23:7 

Jesus, in the text above, is exposing the incongruency of the religious leaders by connecting their words and actions to their motive. He does this with a cause and effect analogy—healthy trees produce good fruit, and the unhealthy ones do not.

In the same way, the words and actions of a man reflect the heart of a man. Ralph Waldo Emerson once said it this way "Man becomes what he thinks about all day long." The outer man and his actions are the results of the inner man and his thoughts.

But being God's man does not mean that we focus only on the fruit of our lives. Far too often, men fall into the trap of trying to produce the right results while ignoring the importance of being the right man. The fruit of a man's life will always reflect his motivation (what's in his heart). Stop thinking only about trying to say and do the right things. Become the right man, carefully attending to your heart, and you will always produce spectacular results.

DO THIS: Focus on your heart and motive by taking an extended time to pray.

PRAY THIS: God, I want you to check my motive today. Test me and make sure my heart is pure.