SCRIPTURE:
“Jesus called the crowd to him and said, ‘Listen and understand. What goes into someone’s mouth does not defile them, but what comes out of their mouth, that is what defiles them.’”
Matthew 15:10-11
OBSERVATION:
In these scriptures and prior scriptures, Jesus called the Pharisees and teachers on their hypocrisy, whereby they would say or recite things that appeared spiritual and religious; yet their actions would contradict what they proclaimed. Jesus then made a point that is so true, it’s not what went into them in terms of what they ate and therefore what seemed so important in the tradition of the washing of their hands so as to prevent defilement, but the words that came forth from their mouths, which depicted the state of their heart and therefore their beliefs and demeanor, often the indicator of defilement within.
APPLICATION:
In Hawaiian, there is a term, “Kulikuli Kou Waha,” which means quiet your mouth or be careful of what you say. These scriptures are a great check for me., as I acknowledge that sometimes when blindsided or surprised by concerning or challenging situations; I have responded out of emotion with words that I wish I could have recalled. Especially when the Holy Spirit would check my heart right after or shortly after I let it all fly. I then wonder, why I couldn’t I have been convicted sooner to refrain from reacting? What I realize is that emotion tends to overstep the prompting of the Holy Spirit in the heat of the moment. It’s almost as if something momentarily comes over me that is not of my new self, but the old self, the prideful self of the past. I know that my time in the Word, prayer with God is what will continue to refine me not to be emotional and impulsive, thereby blurting out words that I wish I could recall.
PRAYER:
Dear Lord, may you enable me to beware of the ways of the enemy to prompt us to get caught up in emotion, but rather may I be able to press in to the promptings of the Holy Spirit manifested by my time with you in devotions and prayer, building up my defenses and Godly response.
