The problem is these excuses don't really stack up. Listen to what Jesus has to say-
The good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. For out of the overflow of his heart his mouth speaks. (Luke 6:45 NIV)This serves as a real challenge. I can't claim anything I say or do in the heat of the moment to be out of character because here Jesus says that what we say comes out of our hearts.
It makes the needed change more challenging. If what we say comes out of our hearts, just learning to keep our mouths shut doesn't solve the problem like it would be if it was just a matter of a few out of character words. It means that we have to examine our hearts and deal with whatever nasty is lurking in there and showing up in our speech and actions. That can be a pretty scary and difficult thing. It might be anger, greed, selfishness of any of a number of nasties. While of course we work on these things with God's help, it can still take time and effort. It's effort we just have to make sometimes.
So next time you say or do something stupid, don’t brush it off as out of character, but take the chance to check your heart,
