Life Pollution

Good morning!

Today's text is Matthew 15:1-20.

Last weekend, I was began working with my church friends on a play we'll be putting on in April.  It has been a long time since I was in a formal production; so, this will be quite the experience.  My character is a doozy.  Verses 8 and 9 describe her exactly.  From The Message - - -

"These people make a big show of saying the right thing,

But their heart is not in it.

They act like they are worshipping me,

But they don't mean it.

They just use me as a cover

For teaching whatever suits their fancy."

Sounds like the quintessential definition of a hypocrite, doesn't it?  In this instance, Jesus was talking to the Pharisees and religious scholars of his day.  They had come to criticize Him and His disciples because they did not follow to the letter the Pharisees' man-made rules.  Jesus pointed out that there is a world of difference between living a holy life that pleases God (keeping His commandments) and following a list of man-made preferences.

Jesus stated that many people cancel out obedience to God's commands by legalistic rules.  Then, He gave a couple of examples.  He said that many use their acts of religious service to cover for their not taking care of their family.  The second example He gave had to do with eating a list of "holy" foods. He said,

It is not what goes into the mouth that makes a person unclean. It is what comes out of the mouth that makes a person unclean."  

Keeping a list of pious rules may look really good on the outside.  But, the real question is this:  what is going on inside a person's heart?

Only God can fully know another person's heart.  But, we can make some pretty accurate judgments about a person's motivations, based on the way that they act and particularly the words that come out of their mouths.  It's recorded in Matthew 12:34 that Jesus said,

"For the mouth speaks from the overflow of the heart."

The things people say indicate whether or not their hearts are "spiritually polluted"!  Of course, some of us, true believers or not, are just more prone to say whatever comes to our minds.  Impulsiveness is not what is in play here.  The key is the heart's condition.

Belief/Faith is not merely accepting certain facts to be true.  Many, many people believe in the historical facts surrounding the life of Jesus.  Many of those believe, intellectually, that He was/is all He claimed/claims to be.  However, and here is the key distinction - - - they do not believe it to the point of worship, to the point of turning their lives over to Him, following Him.  Instead, for various reasons, they put on the trappings of Christianity, so that they "look the part"; but...their heart is not in it.

Now, you true believers, don't you get all sassy here.  We can fall prey to this too!  The Devil places before our eyes many temptations and into our hearts various evil thoughts.  It is up to us whether we accept or reject these spiritual germs, whether we banish them or allow them to get comfortable in our souls and multiply like yeast.  If we do the latter, we are going to look a who-o-o-o-o-ole lot like unbelievers and hypocrites because that stink is going to work its way out through our actions and our mouths. Jesus puts it like this in verse 19:

"But what comes out of the mouth gets its start in the heart.  It's from the heart that we vomit up evil arguments, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, lies and cussing.  That's what pollutes."

"Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me!"
Psalm 51:10

Let's keep close watch over our hearts, God's People.  Our adversary, the devil, is constantly prowling around, looking for someone to absolutely devour.  As soon as you start to smell his stink, reject it. Sometimes, when I'm alone, and some errant thought enters my head, I just speak that rejection out loud.  Don't let any root of nastiness take up root in your soul and pollute you, Christian, because you are not the only victim of that.  Others who are watching you will judge the Savior by your example.

Unbelievers: there is one solution, one cure for the polluted heart!  It's Jesus and only Jesus.  Come to Him and get clean!  No living person is beyond His ability to cleanse and cure.  But, you must take that step and come to Him in repentance and faith.  Don't delay!

Good morning, Lord.  Thank you for this reminder about the centrality of our hearts.  Guard us from pollution today, Father.  Teach us to recognize it in its various insidious forms, as it touches our lives and to avoid it like the plague.  Help us to keep our eyes on You and to pattern our lives after Your holy example.  In Jesus' name, amen.