The Dumpster

For the mouth speaks what the heart is full of.
-Luke 6:45

We have spent the past few days talking about the characters of Toy Story 3. But today, I want to focus on one specific moment involving almost all of them:

The confrontation at the dumpster.
That sounds cheerful, doesn’t it?!

This scene perfectly illustrates the theme we have been discussing all week:
What Spills Reveals.

Lotso and his gang have Woody and his friends cornered. The toys are surrounded by garbage, facing an uncertain future, and Lotso is completely in control.

This is an incredibly tense moment—and pressure has a way of revealing what has been hiding inside us.

What spills out of Woody? Loyalty.
Woody refuses to accept Lotso’s lie that Andy no longer cares about them. He knows Andy is growing up, and he knows their relationship with him is changing—but Woody still trusts his kid.

What spills out of Jessie? Conviction.
Lotso offers them another opportunity to return to Sunnyside and become part of his so-called “family.” Jessie immediately refuses. She understands that a family built on fear, control, and cruelty isn’t a family at all.

What spills out of Barbie? Courage.
And a surprisingly thoughtful statement about representative government! Seriously, who expected Barbie to begin discussing how authority should come from the consent of the governed?! Have you been secretly reading political philosophy inside the Dreamhouse?
Barbie also stands with her friends, even though it means standing against Ken and everything she could have enjoyed at Sunnyside.

And what spills out of Ken? Eventually Leadership.
When Ken is forced to choose between protecting his comfortable position and doing what is right, his courage and bravery finally spills out as a leader. He finally recognizes that Lotso’s leadership is wrong. Sunnyside has become a pyramid with Lotso sitting comfortably on top while everyone beneath him suffers. Ken finally recognizes that Sunnyside could be different. He doesn’t simply stand against Lotso—he stands up for a better way of treating one another.

Then we see what spills out of Big Baby.
When Woody reveals the truth about Daisy, Big Baby realizes that Lotso has been lying to him for years. Underneath Big Baby’s frightening appearance and threatening behavior is still a brokenhearted toy who remembers being loved.

And then there is Lotso.
When Lotso is confronted with the truth, everything he has been holding inside finally spills out: “We’re all just trash, waiting to be thrown away.”

There it is.
That one statement explains so much about Lotso.

Lotso believed he was worthless, unwanted, and disposable. Instead of bringing that pain somewhere it could be healed, he allowed it to become the truth by which he lived. He treated the other toys like trash because deep inside, he believed that was all any of them were.

The outside finally revealed what had been growing within.

Jesus tells us that the mouth speaks what the heart is full of. Eventually, what fills our hearts will find its way into our words, our attitudes, and the way we treat other people.

Pressure doesn’t create what is inside us: it reveals it.

When you are frustrated, what spills out?
When someone hurts your feelings, what spills out?
When your plans fall apart, someone challenges you, or you don’t get your way, what comes pouring from your heart?

Is it anger? Bitterness? Cruelty? Do you say things intended to hurt someone simply because you are hurting?

Or do love, patience, kindness, and self-control begin to spill out?

Friend, I know this can be a little uncomfortable. It is easy to look at Lotso and recognize his bitterness. It can be much harder to recognize what has taken root inside our own hearts, friend.

But Jesus doesn’t just want us to become better at hiding what is inside. He wants to transform us from the inside out!

We don’t merely need cleaner words. We need renewed hearts.

We don’t just need to control the spill. We need to pay attention to what is filling us!

What are you pouring into your heart each day? Are you filling yourself with anger, negativity, comparison, and resentment? Or are you allowing God’s Word and His Spirit to fill you with truth?

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.
-Galatians 5:22–23

Imagine if those were the things that spilled out of us whenever life knocked us over!

Love when someone is difficult.
Peace when everything feels uncertain.
Kindness when someone is unkind.
Gentleness when we are angry.
Self-control when we want to lash out.

We will not always get this right. Sometimes life will bump us, and something ugly will spill out. When that happens, don’t make excuses. Pay attention to it. Confess it to God. Ask Him to show you what is happening within your heart.

Then allow Him to begin changing what is inside.

The scene at the dumpster reveals the hearts of every character standing there. Some spill loyalty. Some spill courage. Some spill truth.

Lotso spills the bitterness he has allowed to define him.
What spilled from you yesterday, friend? What has been spilling from you lately?
More importantly: What are you allowing God to pour into you today?
Because sooner or later, what fills us will spill out of us. -Zac

Create in me a pure heart, O God,
and renew a steadfast spirit within me.
-Psalm 51:10