The Heart-Mind-Tongue Axis

UV 1463/10000 The Heart-Mind-Tongue Axis

For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies:

Matthew 15 v 19

In the words of this uni-verse, Jesus gives both the diagnosis and solution to the prevalence of evil in this world. The root of evil lies in the human heart. From the heart proceeds evil intentions, desires, motives, thoughts, plans. These lead up to violence, murders, sexual offences, property offences, civil offences and spiritual offences. The solution is provided by the Balm of Gilead and Wonderful Counsellor - Jesus. When we experience the love of Jesus and imitate His gentleness and humility, when we receive the spirit of love, power and self control –the Holy Spirit into our lives, when we are instructed by the Spirit and His Word, when our sins are absolved by our contrition and acceptance that His blood shed on the cross at Calvary is our perfect and complete atonement, then our heart is cleansed of all evil.


One police officer in the UK after his conversations with me told me that I am the first police officer he has met across the world who is trying to fight crime, violence and disorder at the mind level. He said that most officers try to fight it at the street level. Some try to fight it with the help of technology. Scripture says, “ Keep thy heart with all diligence for out of it are the issues of life.” It implies that we need to study our hearts, our inner thought patterns, our desire patterns, our habit patterns, our emotional patterns and make the necessary changes to align it with what is revealed to be true, wholesome, healthy, effective, wise and profitable in scripture. Violence, sexual immorality, crimes and such acts of negativity are called works of the flesh. If one indulges his flesh and does not take care of his inner being or ‘heart’, it results in these things. But, fear of God or a fear of being accountable for every word, thought and action makes us desist from such a lifestyle. It is not just a fear of punishment or divine retribution but a recognition that we are made in the image of God and we should not dishonour God, that we are vessels made for a noble purpose. The focus of the Lord is also not on our abilities or our activities or achievements but on our hearts. The natural inclination of our hearts and the imagination of our minds are towards evil or the negative. But by supernatural grace, it is corrected to tilt towards God, the absolutely good, truthful and perfect being. He gives us the freedom and the grace to overcome our own inner weaknesses, the chains of the past.


Merely emptying oneself of evil does not suffice for nature abhors a vacuum. We need to fill our hearts with treasures of God’s Word. A one time filling is not sufficient but a constant and daily re-filling or renewal of our spirits. The heart is the fountainhead of both life and death. We can store in it the issues of death or the issues of life. Allowing the Holy Spirit to do a CAT scan of our hearts will enable us to discover if there is anything that is negative or displeasing to God that is stored therein. It will also help us discover what we treasure most in our lives, the cause and source of our lives’ delight, the most precious aspects of our lives. There is a constant battle in the spiritual realms for our hearts between the forces of God and the forces of the evil one. Evil can also come camouflaged or disguised as good. False beliefs and wrong doctrines that give rise to cults are an example. Our hearts can be ensnared by our own thoughts, desires and words. Hence, we need to be wary of what we feed our minds, watchful of our desires and words. Next to the heart, the most powerful source of evil or good is the human tongue. Scripture says, “Watch your tongue for in it lies the power of death and life.” The natural inclination of the human tongue is towards the negative or death but the supernatural inclination is towards eternal life and the positive. The heart-mind-tongue axis is the axis around which our whole lives revolve. It can either be an axis of negativity or an axis of positivity and good. The choice lies with each of us.

Prateep V Philip