Fruit Check.

"Yes, just as you can tell a tree by its fruit, you can identify people by their actions." Matthew 7

Those are words recorded in the ancient biography called Matthew. Seems pretty straightforward, right? A person's actions reveal who they really are. That's the whole point of this section of the Sermon on the Mount. Watch out, the writing warns us. There are people who look good on the outside but aren't.

Matthew uses the analogy of wolves disguised as sheep. People who appear trustworthy and safe on the outside, but are actually predatory. So how would you know? The writer says you'd know by their actions, by the kind of fruit they produce.

But what if the fruit looks good? What if it makes you more prosperous, or makes you feel more secure?

Wasn't that exactly the problem in the beginning? The fruit looked appealing, even desirable for gaining wisdom. God had warned them, but the temptation was too great. The serpent's promises were too good, and the pull toward self-interest too strong. They ate. And the result was exile and relational brokenness, both with their creator and with each other.

So how do we know if the fruit we're consuming is actually good or bad?

How do we recognize the wolf who has entered our midst disguised as someone trying to help us?

I think the measuring stick is this: bad fruit leads to brokenness. Brokenness with our creator, and brokenness with each other. And I wonder if many people today are just now waking up to the fact that they've been eating bad fruit all along.

I’m just saying…