What Goes In Comes Out

Have you ever said something harsh, insensitive, or rude and then thought to yourself “where did that come from”? Or maybe you’ve had thoughts that aren’t aligned with the image of the good person you believe yourself to be. These are examples of how our words and thoughts are a direct reflection of things we’ve seen and heard which brings us to today’s passage from Luke 6:43-45:

⁴³ “No good tree bears bad fruit, nor does a bad tree bear good fruit.⁴⁴ Each tree is recognized by its own fruit. People do not pick figs from thornbushes, or grapes from briers. ⁴⁵ A good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and an evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. For the mouth speaks what the heart is full of.

Jesus’ message is very clear – whatever goes in comes back out in the same form. If we do and say bad things our inputs have probably been bad. If we’re patient, kind, and decent in our words and actions, we’ve probably had good inputs.

So if we are a “good” person, will that immunize us from the negative effects of bad inputs? Jesus would probably respond that if we are good then we’ve had good inputs. Furthermore, if we are good, then we will seek more good inputs to enhance our goodness even more.

The fruit from any tree is only as good as the inputs it receives through it’s roots and in the same way our “fruit” is only as good as the inputs we receive through our eyes and ears. To further explore this idea, here are some questions for discussion:

1. Do you agree that good people are good because they seek good inputs?
2. Most of the news today seems to be very negative. What impact do you think it has on us when we watch or read excessive amounts of news?
3. What “fruit” do you want to be known by and what inputs will help you grow more of that kind of fruit?
4. What are some of the bad inputs you would like to reduce or eliminate in your life?
5. It has been said that, in every area of our lives, we are essentially the average of the five people we associate with most. Do you agree and, if so, how would you apply that to today’s message?