David Bahn – Reflections

Mark 7:18-23

And [Jesus] said to them, “Then are you also without understanding? Do you not see that whatever goes into a person from outside cannot defile him, ¹⁹ since it enters not his heart but his stomach, and is expelled?” (Thus he declared all foods clean.) ²⁰ And he said, “What comes out of a person is what defiles him.²¹ For from within, out of the heart of man, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, ²² coveting, wickedness, deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride, foolishness. ²³ All these evil things come from within, and they defile a person.”

We had a block party at our house Saturday evening, celebrating the end of Spring Break, and attempting to get to know our neighbors a bit better. Toward the end of the evening our conversation turned to food – from a health standpoint. We talked about everything from organic foods to kale, and how these impact our health. We were all in agreement that our eating habits need cleaning up, but not from a spiritual perspective; none of us thought that by eating highly-processed foods we would become spiritually defiled. Unhealthy, yes, but not spiritually defiled.

So from where do these things that defile us come? Evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, coveting, and the like: Jesus’ list is long enough that surely it touches every one of us somewhere. We all struggle with some form of defiling behavior. They come from within, from hearts corrupted by sin. Our hearts need cleansing more so than our diets.

One of our friends actually talked about doing a detox as a first step toward a dietary overhaul. We may indeed need to consider that ourselves. But have you ever considered a spiritual detox? Have you ever thought about what you feed your heart and how it impacts your spirit?

Jesus modeled spiritual health. He withdrew and prayed all night on more than one occasion. He communed with his heavenly Father. He embraced the love and faithfulness of God and rejected the temptations of the devil – no matter how cunning or appealing.

When it came time for Jesus to offer himself as the atoning sacrifice for the sins of the world – the wickedness, deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride, foolishness of mankind – he did so with a pure heart. By that he pointed us toward a righteousness before God that is not about mere outward behavior, but about the righteousness of faith, redemption from our sins, and hearts made pure by the indwelling of the Holy Spirit.

What spiritual food will feed your soul today?

Mark 7:14-23

And he called the people to him again and said to them, “Hear me, all of you, and understand: ¹⁵ There is nothing outside a person that by going into him can defile him, but the things that come out of a person are what defile him.” ¹⁷ And when he had entered the house and left the people, his disciples asked him about the parable. ¹⁸ And he said to them, “Then are you also without understanding? Do you not see that whatever goes into a person from outside cannot defile him, ¹⁹ since it enters not his heart but his stomach, and is expelled?” (Thus he declared all foods clean.) ²⁰ And he said, “What comes out of a person is what defiles him.²¹ For from within, out of the heart of man, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery,²² coveting, wickedness, deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride, foolishness. ²³ All these evil things come from within, and they defile a person.”