Guarding what comes out of the Mouth

Matthew 15:10-20

I’m not sure about you, but it has become apparent to this writer that I live in a world that is more concerned about what goes in their mouth than what comes out of it.  And I must confess that Jan and I have fallen into that trap, many years ago we started to eat egg whites, and many years later we are told that eggs, though they are high in cholesterol, they may be helpful to burn trans fats.  The same goes for coffee and butter, the real stuff, not the look alike stuff.  Yes, for years I have watched to some degree what goes into my mouth, but have not taken the council of the apostle James about the tongue.  In James chapter 3, the Spirit of God deals with the taming of the tongue, and compares it to a bit put in a horses mouth to make it obey, or a large ship with a small rudder, that is controlled by the will of pilot, but not so the tongue.  In verse 5 James gives this insight: So also the tongue is a small member, yet it boasts of great things.  How great a forest is set ablaze by such a small fire!  And the tongue is a fire, a world of unrighteousness.  The tongue is set among our members, staining the whole body, setting on fire the entire course of life, and set on fire by hell.

After the Pharisees and scribes had come to Jesus complaining about His disciples not keeping the traditions, Jesus called the people to Him and said to them, “Hear and understand: it is not what goes into the mouth that defiles a person, but what comes out of the mouth; this defiles a person.”  (Matthew 15:10b)  After they left, the disciples came to Jesus and reported that the Pharisees were offended when they heard this saying.  Picking up the account of Matthew in verse13, He answered, “Every plant that my heavenly Father has not planted will be rooted up.  Let them alone; they are blind guides. And if the blind lead the blind, both will fall into a pit.”  But Peter said to him, “Explain the parable to us.”  And he said, “Are you also still without understanding?  Do you not see that whatever goes into the mouth passes into the stomach and is expelled? But what comes out of the mouth proceeds from the heart, and this defiles a person.  For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false witness, slander.  These are what defile a person. But to eat with unwashed hands does not defile anyone.”

My dad was not a warm fuzzy type, he worked shifts at a refinery and tried to sleep in a bedroom that faced our front porch, without air-conditioning and three kids, plus neighbors, milkmen, cleaners, and postman coming to that porch, to interrupt what little sleep he got, and we thought he was unpleasant at times.  But my dad made an issue of guarding his tongue, at home, and with others.  When one of us were quick to judge someone, dad would always say, pray that they meet Jesus, for if they knew Jesus they would be very different.  You and I have met Jesus, and it is our duty, our honor to reflect the spiritual qualities that are the character of God.  We should also be reminded that the heart is not a muscle that pumps blood through our bodies, but the word refers to our mind, will, and emotions.   Remember that Jesus said the tongue is controlled by the same one who came to kill, steal, and destroy.

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice