Over twenty years ago during my first college semester, I took a required course in public communication. While our professor detailed many concepts about developing and outlining different types of effective presentations, one idea especially stuck with me. He reflected on the fact that the most impactful sermons, speeches, and even sales pitches were often those that were less scripted and simply overflowed naturally as the speaker shared freely about a truly personal passion.

“Learn all you can about whatever you love, and you can always speak from the overflow.”

Some people seem born to speak from the overflow.

As a young boy, I listened to my dad’s friends and their seemingly endless streams of sports conversations. Anything from obscure Major League Baseball records to the local high school basketball tournament brackets from 30 years before, these men knew all the details. In that pre-Google world, they had no need to look up information each time a question arose- their lifetimes of passionate fandom had prepared them to respond quickly and accurately on almost any matter sports-related. They loved sports, and they willingly spent their time discussing and debating their passion with anyone who would listen.

Having both heard and given thousands of sermons in my life, some of the most memorable came from the overflow that welled up from within the preacher- those moments that went “off script” and poured out from the depths of the heart. Even the timeless closing of Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech happened when he departed from his prepared notes and blended rhythmic cadence and lofty words to deliver a summation that has echoed down through the decades.

Scripture endorses speaking (and living) out of our passionate overflow.

In Luke 6:45, Jesus says, “A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart brings forth evil. For out of the abundance [overflow] of the heart his mouth speaks.”

As we look at people’s lives over time, their guiding principles are revealed through their words and actions. When a person drifts off script or private thoughts are caught on a hot mic, the reality of the heart is seen. While all people can and do fall short at times in moments of stress and frustration, the nature of a person’s overall character will be reflected in their lives over time.

Polished presentation of smooth talking points can mislead the masses for a time, but the heart’s abundance will always reveal our true character to those that know us best.

One of the most difficult aspects of navigating faith, family, and friendship is to be able to acknowledge when our loved ones are unaware of (or worse unconcerned about) the damage their unfiltered words cause to the people in their lives. Such overflow may seem incidental, but it springs from the depths of who we are. Over time in the casual, off book moments of life, the actual inclination of our hearts is seen- for better or worse. Believers must always seek to intentionally abide in the life-giving source of God’s love if we want our overflow to serve as grace-filled blessing to others.

The visible fruit that springs forth and ripens in the words and actions of our daily lives ultimately serves to openly reveal the hidden content of our hearts.

Good hearts overflow with good things that serve as a blessing and benefit all. The only way to overflow with blessings toward others is to fill our own hearts and lives with the goodness we are called to in Christ. If we find our own satisfaction in being filled with God’s loving truth, the overflow of our daily lives will both faithfully reflect divine love and serve as a blessing to each person we encounter.