...come forth from the heart

Matthew {15:10} And he called the multitude, and said unto them,
Hear, and understand: {15:11} Not that which goeth into
the mouth defileth a man; but that which cometh out of the
mouth, this defileth a man. {15:12} Then came his
disciples, and said unto him, Knowest thou that the
Pharisees were offended, after they heard this saying?
{15:13} But he answered and said, Every plant, which my
heavenly Father hath not planted, shall be rooted up.
{15:14} Let them alone: they be blind leaders of the blind.
And if the blind lead the blind, both shall fall into the ditch.
{15:15} Then answered Peter and said unto him, Declare
unto us this parable. {15:16} And Jesus said, Are ye also
yet without understanding? {15:17} Do not ye yet
understand, that whatsoever entereth in at the mouth goeth
into the belly, and is cast out into the draught? {15:18} But
those things which proceed out of the mouth come forth
from the heart; and they defile the man. {15:19} For out of
the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries,
fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies: {15:20}
These are [the things] which defile a man: but to eat with
unwashen hands defileth not a man.



We are a superficial people, living in a superficial existence where entertainers earning millions and millions of dollars while people starve and lack medical attention, and some don't even have a roof over their heads and yet- someone with a pretty smile and a pretty face will live in luxury beyond our imaginations. How can they do it? It's easy for us to say and yet we too live in our own superficial existence caught up in our semi-mediocre lives where we say we barely get by and yet we have entertainment at our fingertips every day. A walk to the pantry or the fridge will yield us something to put in our bellies even if it isn't always exactly what we want at the moment. We lay our heads down on a pillow at night and our tired bodies in beds that might not be the most comfortable and yet we have access to something softer than hard ground, or concrete. We can reach over and pull covers over our chilled bodies at night. We can walk to the thermostat of our home and turn it up or down so that we live within our comfort zone and yet we call this life less that good. We get into a car that might not always run right, whose a/c doesn't work, whose radiator loves to over heat a few time a year and we complain because it's not a luxurious car. We use our outdated software, hardware and press on keys that are worn from use- wishing for something more up to date, while so many haven't even access to a computer at all, at least not in their own homes. We have so much and those of us who have so little won't even be reading this. We have so much and yet it rarely is ever enough. What does all this have to do with that passage from Matthew above? Well, it's what that comes out of a man's mouth that defiles him. What comes out are evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies... the things that come from our mouths originate in our hearts. Our hearts hold our desires. Our desires are they for superficial things? Things people will gladly pat us on the back and say it's natural to want. It's normal to want comfort and that is true, no one likes a hard painful existence. So many people worry about the superficial things while completely overlooking the wrongness filling the heart and spilling out into our lives. I see someone and look upon their appearance and judge them instantly even in some small way - we process the information we see had it tells us whether or not the person we are viewing is acceptable- are they better than us in appearance or are they lower than us in appearance, or perhaps they're equal. We make these determinations automatically and based upon the determinations our actions are controlled. Those determinations can be altered once a person begins to talk and the nicest appearing person could be the most vulgar, while the least desirable in appearance could be the sweetest person. We are a superficial people living superficial lives while the blind have an advantage we can't imagine and don't really want. Is there hope for us superficial people? The hope is found in Jesus and His example to us. He treated the richest the same as the poorest and the most undesireable the same as the most desirable. People to Him were all the same- all children of the Father, wayward and lost needing guidance.


While that which comes out of our mouths- revealing who we are - is the truth of the heart, if we only look to that which goes inside us the things we do and not the things we speak- we aren't looking at the heart.


The Pharisees were offended by this saying of Jesus. They were offended because they cherished their outward actions, their rituals, their *good* behavior while not caring at all about the vileness that came from their hearts. As long as they held fast to their rituals they were all set, they were Godly men and no one was going to tell them otherwise. They didn't need anyone telling them all their actions meant nothing, that the actions of others who defiled themselves meant nothing. How dare anyone say such things.


Jesus dared because Jesus knew that the lowliest of the low whose heart was pure was better than the High Priest of the Pharisees.


The heart matters and what comes from our hearts matters. When all the superficial things of our lives are ripped aay, it's what is left that matters most. Are we found in the love of Jesus? Are we true children of the Father? Our hearts will tell.


May the Holy Spirit take the evil from my heart, from your heart, and fill us with the love of Jesus Christ so that what comes from our mouths is from the heart, from the Lord and not from the evils that will fill it up if it's not filled with Jesus.


By the mercy and grace of our Lord and Savior, by His forgiveness, by His love now and forever.


Amen.