17After he had left the crowd and entered the house, his disciples asked him about this parable. 18"Are you so dull?" he asked. "Don't you see that nothing that enters a man from the outside can make him 'unclean'? 19For it doesn't go into his heart but into his stomach, and then out of his body." (In saying this, Jesus declared all foods "clean.")
20He went on: "What comes out of a man is what makes him 'unclean.' 21For from within, out of men's hearts, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, 22greed, malice, deceit, lewdness, envy, slander, arrogance and folly. 23All these evils come from inside and make a man 'unclean.' "
I used to have this passage on my Post-It and carry it within my Bible. I think the reason that I started doing it in the past was because I used to make judgmental remarks which were borderline offensive. In some sense, I do bear some semblance to PD who says things which are borderline offensive and hurtful.We are all human beings. We are fallible and mistake-prone. I do say things which I regret later on. However, what the passage says is quite true. What enters into one's mouth can not defile that person because it comes out of his body whereas what comes out of one's own mouth does defile a person because it comes from the person's heart.
On many occasions, people say things which they haven't "meant" to say and then they try to defuse their remarks or awkward situation by saying that it was only a joke. But, nothing can be further from the truth. When a person says things more often than not they really "mean" it. It can not come out of one's mouth unless it had been simmering in one's heart. Somehow, this passage stuck with me all day today.
Have a great week! May God bless you throughout this week!
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