Want to Live Better? Look At Your Senses
Mark 7:14-23 says: 14 And he (Jesus) called the people to him again and said to them, “Hear me, all of you, and understand: 15 There is nothing outside a person that by going into him can defile him, but the things that come out of a person are what defile him.” 17 And when he had entered the house and left the people, his disciples asked him about the parable. 18 And he said to them, “Then are you also without understanding? Do you not see that whatever goes into a person from outside cannot defile him, 19 since it enters not his heart but his stomach, and is expelled?” (Thus he declared all foods clean.) 20 And he said, “What comes out of a person is what defiles him. 21 For from within, out of the heart of man, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, 22 coveting, wickedness, deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride, foolishness. 23 All these evil things come from within, and they defile a person.”
Jesus was always concerned about the moral way in which people carried themselves. He was concerned about how they interacted with one another. He was concerned about how they approached God. He was concerned that people lived in their own righteousness without seeing the useless rituals that did not advance their love toward God and others.
We live in an age where we are ever-increasing in our awareness of what we put in our bodies. And rightly so. It’s harder and harder to eat healthier nowadays when we are trying to find solutions to feed so many people. It’s a part of the expanse of humanity. But, we are quick to forget about what comes out of our mouths and lands on places like Facebook, personal blogs, water cooler chat, dating sites, and family dinners.
Jesus’ words paint a picture of fixating on the wrong intake valve. When so many people were worried about what went into the stomach, they were not as concerned as what went into the heart. The intake valves we should worry about are the senses of touch, sight, and hearing. Those have the power to influence the state of the heart. Those have the power to mold the direction of what will spring forth from a person.
Watch what you touch. It can make you greedy.
Watch what you hear. It can shape your world without you realizing it.
Watch what you see. It can stir the most primal of responses.
Are you defiled according to Jesus’ definition? Stop and think about what you’ve touched, heard, and seen lately. Go to the Lord in confession. He will hear and He will return upon you the forgiveness that you seek. Jesus assures you of that.
When you walk away from your confession, ask the Lord to help you refrain from impurity by what you have touched, heard, and seen. Amen.
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