May 12

Known by their fruits

            Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves. You will know them by their fruits. Are grapes gathered from thorns, or figs from thistles? In the same way, every good tree bears good fruit, but the bad tree bears bad fruit.  A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Thus you will know them by their fruits.

Matthew 7:15-20

I have supervised a lot of different people.  I have read a lot of resumes and job applications and sat through many, many job interviews.  Most people have their professional face and they have their real face.  The professional face is funny and engaging, responsible and on-time, detail oriented and eager to get their paperwork in on time.  They may have had some issues at their last place of employment, but those are easily explained away and they would be an incredible addition to the team.  The person’s real face may be exactly the same…but usually it is not.  Sooner or later…usually sooner…the real face shows up to work and we get to see exactly who we are dealing with.

The tree is known by its fruit.  What we do, how we act, what we produce will always demonstrate what is true of our character and what we truly believe.  I would tell my staff that if something happens once, it could be an accident.  If something happens twice, it is a pattern.  If something happens three times, it is a characteristic and will undoubtedly happen again.  That was true of substance abuse or client aggression or tardiness or outstanding customer service.  Who we are will come out, both for good and for ill.

It is important as a parent to have a good grasp on the realities of who influences and interacts with our kids.  Aides, teachers, pastors, therapists, friends, family, the internet…our kids have dozens of voices who are telling them what they should do and where they should go and how to feel and what is important to know.  And mostly our kids have a blind trust that the adults in their lives are there to help them.  There is a revolving door of therapists for OT and PT and speech and social skills and then there are aides and care providers that change on a daily or weekly basis.

There is a tricky balance that we have to navigate.  We want our kids to cooperate with the professionals who are there to help them.  It is great when my son can just dive into his therapy session instead of freaking out every time that he is in the room with someone new.  I want him to be able to engage and get the most out of his times…and I do not want him to just trust and follow any adult that he encounters.  There are many adults out there who are not interested in working for my son’s good and would be happy to take advantage of him.  I have to train him to look with a discerning eye; look at how they speak and how they treat others and what kind of fruit they produce.  Is that what you want more of or less of in your life?

Not everyone who is in a leadership position is a good leader.  Not every politician or pastor or CEO is out for the good of those that they lead.  Not everyone who is in front of a microphone has worthwhile things to say.  Sometimes there are people in influence who use that power for the benefit of others and sometimes they do not.  We too must be discerning about whom we listen to and whom we follow.  The passage encourages us to look at what their life creates and decide if that is godly or not.  Do they create peace or tension?  Do they build up the marginalized or tear them down?  Are their words filled with compassion or malice?  The truth of our leaders’ character can be found, if we are willing to look for it.

A moment to reflect:

Who do you choose to be influenced by?  Why?