Jesus spoke in Matthew chapter 12:
33 “Either make the tree good and its fruit good, or else make the tree bad and its fruit bad; for a tree is known by its fruit.
We are not to judge a man’s heart for only FATHER knows what is in the heart. However, we can and should judge the fruit of men. The blind man who was healed at Bethsaida in Mark 8:24 stated, “I see men like trees, walking”, thus men are likened to trees. Their acts and words are called fruit.
34 Brood of vipers! How can you, being evil, speak good things? For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.
35 A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good things, and an evil man out of the evil treasure brings forth evil things.
36 But I say to you that for every idle word men may speak, they will give account of it in the day of judgment.
37 For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.”
A treasure is the place in which good and precious things are collected and laid up and the heart is known as the storehouse or repository of what a man deems most precious. He will subconsciously protect his treasure until he finds out one of two things: either the treasure is not valuable to him, or there is a greater treasure to replace the current treasure.
From this treasury, a man speaks and acts, also known as his fruit. This fruit is observable to all who are exposed to it and as a result, we can easily conclude what his treasury contains. Some will mask their fruit on a temporary basis but in the end, their fruit will be revealed for all to see. Their treasure will be deemed as good or evil, depending on the resulting fruit.
An idle word is a useless, careless, unfruitful word which has no life in it. When there is no life, death and destruction follow. We will give account for those words spoken so this reality brings us back to what Jesus calls our treasure.
What is the greatest treasure I can store in my heart? The revelation of Agape Love! In 1 Corinthians chapter 13, by THE SPIRIT, Paul describes such a treasure:
4 Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up;
5 does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil;
6 does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth;
7 bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.
Do these attributes describe our words and actions? If not, our treasury needs to be reviewed because its contents are less valuable than we think. We must reflect on our words and acts, and do an honest assessment. Do my words and acts promote life? Am I constantly defensive? Do I promote hope and kindness?
11 When I was a child, I spoke as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child; but when I became a man, I put away childish things.
As we mature in Christ, our fruit will reflect our maturity and the contents of our treasury.
8 Love never fails. But whether there are prophecies, they will fail; whether there are tongues, they will cease; whether there is knowledge, it will vanish away.
9 For we know in part and we prophesy in part.
10 But when that which is perfect has come, then that which is in part will be done away.
What is the most enduring and perfect treasure? Love!