Importance of Fruit

There’s a parable in Matthew 7 warning christians of false prophets that parade themselves as sheep but are really carnivorous wolves. In verse 20 Jesus says, “You will know them by their fruits.” He compares this to trees. He states that good trees produce good fruit and bad trees produce bad – so if the fruit is bad, so is the tree. This analogy has come in handy in my life working with people, but even more beneficial in making decisions. “You shall know them by their fruit,” can also be turned to say, “What is the fruit of this?” with situations. Life consists of a lot of greys, and it is sometimes hard to decide if something is good or not. Exercise or not? Save more or less? Things that are not specifically a sin can be hard to figure out. That’s where the fruit question comes in handy. Recently, I was at a yard sale and found a great deal! A motorized scooter (that worked!) for $25. Tantalized by the price, I almost whipped out my wallet when “the fruit question” crept up on me. “What is the fruit of this?” Well, sadly, it would probably mean the kids would ditch their bicycles for the scooter, resulting in less exercise. I put my wallet back in my purse, although a bit sad. The fruit that would result from a harmless scooter deemed the scooter a “no go,” This question can be applied to many situations: “What’s the fruit of not eating healthy? What’s the fruit of a little “innocent” flirting? What’s the fruit of buying more STUFF?” By forseeing the future fruit to come, we can make better decisions now. -ALE