Jesus
clearly teaches the disciples again that what defiles a person is what comes
out of them. It is out of our own hearts
that evil comes. Jesus gives the
following examples of evil: evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder,
adultery, coveting, wickedness, deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride, and foolishness. All of these things come from within, and it
is this that defiles a person.
Thoughts for Today
First Thought:
Jesus
is clear in that it is our own hearts that defile us. It points us back to Genesis. We are sinful beings to the core. God gives us all we need; yet we are not
satisfied with what God gives us. God is
gracious to us; yet we are not gracious to one another. The problem really does lie within us.
Do
you think this is an important understanding with respect to what it means to
follow God? Why might this point be
fundamental to our faith?
Second Thought:
Jesus
makes a very subtle point, but I think it is also profound. There is no “Devil made me do it.” There is no “I was just in the wrong place at
the wrong time.” If a person has an evil
thought, it is because somewhere along the line they have given that thought a
place to reside in their mind. If some
is sexually immoral, they have made some decisions that lead to it. If someone covets, they have allowed
themselves to see more importance in their neighbor’s possessions than in the
neighbor themselves. If someone steals,
they have allowed themselves to care more about their own desires than
righteous behavior. If someone murders,
they allowed passion to rule their soul and not cared for the well-being of
their neighbor. If someone adulterates
they have allowed passion to rule their soul and not loved their spouse as they
should. If someone is wicked they have
allowed themselves to harbor ill thoughts and have them fruit into ill intent. If someone is deceitful, they have allowed a
desire to misrepresent truth to come into their way of living. If someone lives sensuously they have allowed
a desire to live licentiously enter their life.
If someone envies, they have allowed themselves to live in a way that is
not content with what God has provided. If someone slanders, they have allowed
themselves to learn how to speak ill of others.
If someone is proud, they have allowed themselves to think more highly
of their own work than they should. If
someone is foolish, they have allowed themselves to become lazy with respect to
thinking through their actions. None of
these behaviors are “accidental.” Sure,
many of them are thoughtless. But all of
them come from lapses in righteous living.
All of them come because at the very least we have let our guard down
and allowed evil to take up residence within.
How
often do we like to think of our evil as accidents? Do you think God buys our rationalization
that it is only an accident?
Passage
for Tomorrow: Mark 7:24-26
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