Jesus said to His disciples: "A good tree does not bear rotten fruit nor does a rotten tree bear good fruit. For every tree is known by its own fruit. For people do not pick figs from thornbushes, nor do they gather grapes from brambles. A good person our of the store of goodness in his heart produces good, but an evil person out of a store of evil produces evil; for from the fullness of the heart the mouth speaks.
"Why do you call me, 'Lord, Lord,' but not do what I command? I will show you what someone is like who comes to me, listens to my words, and acts on them. That one is like a man building a house, who dug deeply and laid the foundation on rock; when the flood came, the river burst against that house but could not shake it because it had been well built. But the one who listens and does not act is like a person who built a house on the ground without a foundation. When the river burst against it, it collapsed at once and was completely destroyed."
The Gospel of the Lord.
Sirach's straightforward advice to his contemporaries was they couldn't from a valid assessment of others until they had an opportunity to hear them speak. A satirical updated version of the same found on the Internet puts it this way: Light travels faster than sound. That's what many people seem bright until they open their mouths.
For Jesus actions served as far better indicators of character than words because he knew well how actions could belie one's words.
St Augustine: “Let us not be lazy or content with the surface. Let us dig more deeply until we come to rock: ‘The rock is Christ’ (1 Cor 10:4).”
"Every tree is known by its own fruit. A good person out of the store of goodness in his heart produces good." How does that goodness come to be stored in a believer's heart? Through "the cup of blessing" that is "a participation in the blood of Christ" and "the bread that we break" which is "a participation in the Body of Christ."
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