What ‘TRULY’ MATTERS COMES OUT from our HEARTS!
October
19 Bible Reading: Mark Chapters 7-9
What ‘TRULY’ MATTERS COMES OUT from our HEARTS!
When He had called all the multitude to
Himself, He said to them, "Hear Me, everyone, and understand: There is nothing that enters a man
from outside which can defile him; but the things which come out of him, those
are the things that defile a man. If anyone has ears to hear, let him
hear!" (Mark 7:14-16)
Our Lord
Jesus Christ made a revolutionary pronouncement that it was not what goes into our
mouths that defile us (such as food eaten with unwashed hands). We are not
defiled by what goes into us through food (or, physical matter which contains
no moral significance). All foods should be considered clean because they do not
defile the spirit as do things that are wrong with the heart.
Rather, it’s
what comes out of our hearts through words and actions contrary to His will
that defile us: evil thoughts,
adulteries, fornications, murders, thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit,
lewdness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, and foolishness (vv. 21-22). If
actions, words, or thoughts originate in an evil, rebellious heart, they are
certainly contrary to God and His righteousness.
While
expounding this passage, Matthew Henry tells us that only our wicked thoughts and affections, words and actions defile
us. As a corrupt fountain sends forth corrupt streams, so does a corrupt heart
send forth corrupt appetites and passions, and all the wicked words and actions
that come from them.
So, uncleanness of our hearts is the
root of all our problems. The true source of defilement is not a disregard for external rituals or
dietary laws, but a polluted heart that plots evil. What ‘truly’ matters comes
out from our hearts! "If I regard
iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear." (Psalms 66:18)
Today, let us ask God to search our hearts and clean us from within! "Search me, O God, and know my heart; try me, and know my anxieties; and see if there is any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting." (Psalms 139:23-24)
