What Defiles a Person

     Matthew chapter 15 begins with Pharisees and scribes asking Jesus why His disciples broke the traditions of the elders because they didn't wash their hands when they ate. As Jesus so often did, he responded to their question with a question of His own. Simply, "why do you break the commandment of God for the sake of your tradition?" Evidently they didn't honor their fathers and mothers. In verse 10  he called the people to him and said to them, “Hear and understand: ¹¹it is not what goes into the mouth that defiles a person, but what comes out of the mouth; this defiles a person.”  And at this the Pharisees and scribes were offended.

As He had done before, Jesus had to give His disciples an explanation. "¹⁷Do you not see that whatever goes into the mouth passes into the stomach and is expelled? ¹⁸But what comes out of the mouth proceeds from the heart, and this defiles a person. ¹⁹For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false witness, slander. ²⁰These are what defile a person. But to eat with unwashed hands does not defile anyone.”

My question to you is...  What's in your heart? We may say it's the Lord, but do our actions, our thoughts, our speech say something else? We may say one thing, but our actions speak volumes. It may be time that we perform a healthy heart check by asking ourselves "is there something in my heart that defiles me/"