I’ve had several crowns made for my teeth over the years. Because I have what the dentist calls “an extremely powerful bite” which had cracked a few porcelain ones, most of them are gold.

A few years ago my grandson Malachi was sitting on my lap and looked into my mouth. His eyes got wide and he said, “Papa, there’s treasure in your mouth!” I told him that when I was done with it, he could have it. As it turns out, I had to replace one of those crowns because some decay had developed underneath it. I told my dentist what Malachi had said, so he sent the pieces home with me to give to him.

That got my to thinking about what comes out of my mouth as far as my words are concerned. Is it treasure or decay? Truth be told, it is some of both.

God has used me to share the treasure of His good news with others. I tell people what God has done for me and for them and for all people in sending Jesus to this earth. He was not content that our sins should separate us from Him for eternity, so He made the trip down here to live perfectly, pay our penalty, and give us the benefit of what He accomplished. That is a treasure.

But I have also spoken words that were hateful and hurtful. The old sinful man rears his ugly head way too often in my life. I don’t like it and I don’t want it to happen, but it does. Thankfully, that sin was also covered by what Jesus did for us through His life and death. And I know this “decay” is not permanent.

“…creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the glorious freedom of the children of God.” Romans 8 21

I’ll keep trying to make sure that treasure comes out of my mouth more than decay. Lord, help me to do this!

And by the way, I will remain true to my word. I haven’t decided if I will give Malachi the gold pieces or sell them and set up a savings account for him. Either way, the treasure is his!