What’s in Your Bucket?

Years ago I met the senior pastor of a large church in Houston, Texas, Wallace Henley. Wallace grew up on a farm. And in his book, he presents the following analogy, comparing hearts to buckets.

In any farmyard, there are lots of buckets around—buckets full of ‘feed,’ buckets full of bolts, buckets full of dirt, buckets full of garbage... And when you bump into and/or kick over a bucket, whatever is ‘in’ the bucket is what will spill out. Wallace says people are like those farmyard buckets. When you meet (colloquially, we might say “run into” or “bump into”) a friend or acquaintance, whatever is in them will spill out. If they are anxious or perplexed about something, as soon as you begin talking to them, the thing making them anxious will spill out. If they are happy and excited, it will pour out. So if you listen to what spills out of a person, you will know what he is “full of."

Jesus said “For out of the overflow of his heart his mouth speaks.” (Luke 6:45). If you want to find out what's in someone's heart, just listen to his words.

But here’s something more personally helpful. If you want to know what is in your own heart, just listen to your words. Have you ever left a conversation with someone and immediately wondered why you brought up a subject you had no intention of talking about? It was in your heart! Pay attention to what spills out of your mouth; it will help you to discern the condition of your heart.

Listening to your own words is key for you to “Watch over your heart with all diligence” (Prov. 4:23).