Read Matthew 15:15-20.
What Defiles You Before God? Dirty Hands Or A Dirty Heart?
To be defiled before God means you do something that makes you unholy or unclean before God. After Jesus’s encounter with the Pharisees and scribes, he said to the multitude, “It’s not what enters the mouth that defiles a person, but what proceeds out of the mouth actually defiles them.” The Pharisees and scribes made sure that they washed their hands before they ate for fear that their unclean hands would make their food unclean, which in turn would make their bodies unclean before God. They were more concerned about that than they were concerned about the heart of a person.
Jesus wanted to make sure people understood that what comes out of the mouth makes one unclean or defiled because what comes out of the mouth reveals what your heart really looks like. What you say and do is what determines where your heart really is. Jesus said, “For out of the heart comes evil thoughts: murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander.”
When you are sitting with a group of people observe what conversations people have. I sat with a group of people and one particular man was telling one dirty joke after another. I can say with almost certainty that a person who tells dirty jokes or speaks in a dirty manner, is also living a life that reflects what he talks about. This man telling the jokes is a great example. When he saw I wasn’t laughing, he asked what I was and I responded that I was a follower of Jesus Christ. For the next 20 minutes he opened up his heart to share with me how he has been committing adultery along with other unclean behaviors.
Next time you’re with a group of people having conversation, observe what words are coming out of your mouth. Perhaps you are defiling yourself before God. If so let him transform you into a beautiful light for Christ in a dark world.
