UNCLEAN HEART = UNCLEAN LIPS
The Pharisees asked Jesus why His disciples didn’t follow the tradition of the elders by washing their hands before eating. He replied that it isn’t what goes into the mouth that defiles a man, but what comes out.
The word “defile,” means to make unclean or impure. Jesus pointed out that hand-washing was a man-made tradition and not a law of God. Not only that, it only cleans the outside, when it’s actually the inside, the heart, that needs to be made clean. Unclean words originate from an unclean heart. Jesus tried to help them understand that their hearts were unclean and that they needed new, clean hearts.
What comes out of your mouth? Or as is the fashion of the times, what comes out of your thumbs, as you type on your smart phones and social media sites? Your words reveal your heart.
PRAYER: Dear Father, we come to You as Isaiah did, confessing that we have unclean lips and come from a people with unclean lips. Purify us. We pray as David did, create in us a clean heart O God. We give our hearts and our words to Jesus. Give us new hearts and new words of blessing. In Jesus’ name, amen.