Who Holds Your Heart

"Don't you see that whatever enters the mouth goes into the stomach and then out of the body? But the things that come out of the mouth come from the heart, and these make a man 'unclean.' For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander. These are what make a man 'unclean'; but eating with unwashed hands does not make him 'unclean.' "

It’s easy to follow certain, convenient rules that fit our comfort zone and allow us to feel some measure of cleanliness and Godliness. If I just follow God’s law and don’t do this or don’t do that I’ll have the blameless exterior that others can see. But what about my interior? What does my heart think? Can I meet the legal requirements on the outside and not meet my Savior on the inside?

How legalistic can I be in judging someone else while totally failing to see that their heart is broken for a Savior?

Jesus is talking about the Law’s regulations about food, what you can’t eat because it is unclean. During the days of the Old Testament it was critical that the people not eat those things that could harm them through either disease or spoilage. What they put in their mouths could determine their health. But now Jesus is talking about the indicators of health that come out of the mouths of people. How can I know if the heart is healthy? What is coming out of the mouth? If a person professes to be one thing but his actions and words say something different, then his health indicators are the more accurate mark of who he really is.

So rather than being totally consumed about what is passing through the digestive tract, Jesus wants his disciples to be totally concerned about what is going into their hearts. First, who have they put in charge of their heart? Has the Holy Spirit been given total control and ownership of the heart? Has the previous owner left the premises, or does he come back to visit? Is the Holy Spirit given such ownership that He can decide what comes in and what stays out?

Second, what are we doing to take every thought captive to Christ? It may not come out of the heart. It may simply come out of evil. There are no thoughts that cannot penetrate the mind of a human. But, once it comes in is it taken captive to Christ? Is it brought to the Savior for cleansing and purification? Is it held to the standard of thought and action befitting a disciple of the Son of God? Or, is it kept and examined and considered and allowed to take up occupancy?

Fleeting thoughts are like radio waves. If you do not have your receiver tuned to their frequency you may get a poor signal that is barely recognizable. When you get that signal, do you tune your receiver to get a better signal or do you detune it so that it is not audible?

It depends on who is given the control of your receiver.