Let no filthy talk come out of your mouths, but only what is good for building up as the need may be. This way you will give grace to those who hear you. (Ephesians 4:29 ISV)
Little children, we must not love in word or speech, but in deed and truth; (1 John 3:18 HCSB)
The last thing "Will" can do with a "box" that enters our minds is, of course, act on it. Those "boxes" can be heard in our words and see through our deeds. Good boxes yield good words and deeds. Bad boxes yield bad words and deeds. It's really just that simple.
Notice the complexity of the picture from where we started, though. We traced back where boxes come from. We discussed the fact that each of us has a "Will" that can do anything he wants with any box that comes into our minds. We remembered that a box can be put in a "still thinking" pile to come back to later. We affirmed that a box can be thrown away because we don't want to keep it. We focused on the fact that we often store boxes away in our "hearts" to keep the rest of our lives.
Boxes are everywhere: coming in our minds, being moved around, sitting in piles, and stored away in the "warehouses" of our hearts. In the end, though, "Will" still decides which boxes make it out of our mouths and through our actions.
When Paul wrote to the church in Ephesus, he reminded them (and us) that our words should "give grace" to those who hear us. In other words, our words should be a gift to the people who hear them. Are your words always a gift to the people who hear them?
The apostle, John, reminds us that our deeds should be driven by love for all people - whether they are in our family, church family, a neighbor or even our enemy. Do your actions reflect pure, holy love toward each person you encounter?
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