"For out of the heart"

Matthew 15: 10-20


Matthew 15: 10-11:  Jesus called the crowd to him and said, “Listen and understand. ¹¹ What goes into someone’s mouth does not defile them, but what comes out of their mouth, that is what defiles them.”

We seem to get bombarded with lots of messages about food.  The recent superbowl weekend was almost as much about party snacks as the game itself!  We get lots of information about healthy choices, whether they are diet promotions or articles promoting “good foods” and decrying “bad foods”.  Certainly food is important and we are responsible for taking care of ourselves by eating properly.  But you can see in Matthew 15:17-20 that food is not really the main point of Jesus’ narrative:  


 “Don’t you see that whatever enters the mouth goes into the stomach and then out of the body? ¹⁸ But the things that come out of a person’s mouth come from the heart, and these defile them. ¹⁹ For out of the heart come evil thoughts—murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander. ²⁰ These are what defile a person; but eating with unwashed hands does not defile them.”


Instead of so many messages about what goes into our mouths, wouldn’t it be nice to get more reminders about what comes out of our mouths, what comes from the heart?  My study bible notes state “Fellowship with God is not interrupted by unclean hands or food, but by sin.”  How true I find that to be in my life, how about you?  Thank God for the Holy Spirit who convicts us at such times and calls us to repentance.


The book of Proverbs has some pretty good advice on this topic.  The following is from Proverbs 4: 23-24: 
  

 Above all else, guard your heart,
    for everything you do flows from it.
²⁴ Keep your mouth free of perversity;
    keep corrupt talk far from your lips.


Thank-you Jesus, for reminding us about what is truly important, and thank you for the wisdom of Proverbs.  Help us to guard our hearts and fill them with your word so that what comes out of our mouth brings you glory.  Amen

Did I Just Say That? Matthew 15:1-20

But the things that come out of a person’s mouth come from the heart, and these defile them. For out of the heart come evil thoughts—murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander. These are what defile a person... ( Matthew 15:17-20)

We recently needed to teach our son that certain words are not accepted in our home. He was not saying “bad” words, but there are some things he would say that made me cringe.

He loves playing video games, and when he would make a bad move he would say, “Oh dang it”. When he would get surprised he would exclaim, “Oh my gosh”. Now, dang and gosh are not what most people would classify bad words, but when they come out of the mouth of a four year old, they just don’t sound right.

It’s amazing how fast Evan has caught on. He has not only learned how to restrain his tongue, but he often corrects me when I slip. It’s easy to teach a young child to change a new behavior, but it is much harder for us to change as adults.

Our scripture passage today says that, “the things that come out of a person’s mouth come from the heart.” This made me reflect on the things we say that make God cringe. Are there things in our vocabulary that we would classify as harmless, but God sees as a reflection of our heart?

Ask him to reveal to you any areas of your heart that you have not surrendered to Him.

Read today's passage at Biblegateway Matthew 15:1-20