Living Inside Out

Living Inside Out

Mark 7:14-15, NLT

Then Jesus called to the crowd to come and hear. “All of you listen,” he said, “and try to understand. 15It’s not what goes into your body that defiles you; you are defiled by what comes from your heart.”

Setting the Scene

Jesus called out to the crowd, wanting them to beware of those who would lead them astray and to be careful to get their values and priorities straight. The Pharisees taught that eating with unclean or defiled hands would defile a person before God (Mark 7:5). Jesus explained that they had it backwards. Defilement is an internal matter, not an external one.

Certainly God is concerned about our actions, but focusing on outward actions can pull us away from the more important issue—the condition of the heart. Just as the Pharisees’ emphasis on traditions had caused them to ignore God’s commands, emphasis on external issues can cause us to neglect internal ones.

Conversely, a person who is right on the inside will reflect that reality with how he or she looks at life, speaks, acts, and relates to others. The Pharisees should have known this. Often God had told his people that he valued mercy and obedience based on love more than merely observing rules and rituals (see 1 Samuel 15:22-23; Psalms 40:6-8; 51:16-19; Jeremiah 7:21-23; Hosea 6:6; Amos 5:21-24; Micah 6:6-8).

Concern about the inside, the “heart,” should come first and then outward actions.

Getting Personal

When have you felt pressured to live up to a set standard of Christian behavior?

What external activities, behaviors, etc., tend to make your list of what a good Christian should not do?

When have you judged someone based on his or her actions (negative or positive) only to find out you were totally wrong about that person?

While we don’t have a long list of ceremonial rituals and regulations like the Pharisees, we make our own lists. These may involve food and drink, clothes, entertainment, worship styles, and more. Some believers go even further, adding their own behavior tests of a person’s commitment to Christ. Yet we are painfully aware of people we’ve known who looked good on the outside but were far from God. Instead, God wants us to live from the inside out.

Talking to God

Ask the Lord to help you find any trace of the “Pharisee” in yourself. Consider what you may unconsciously hold as a list of spiritual or nonspiritual qualities by which you criticize others. Ask God to help you keep your focus on personally submitting to him.