Outward compliance or a cleansed heart?

Mark 7:17-23

¹⁷ After he had left the crowd and entered the house, his disciples asked him about this parable. ¹⁸ “Are you so dull?” he asked. “Don’t you see that nothing that enters a person from the outside can defile them? ¹⁹ For it doesn’t go into their heart but into their stomach, and then out of the body.” (In saying this, Jesus declared all foods clean.)

²⁰ He went on: “What comes out of a person is what defiles them. ²¹ For it is from within, out of a person’s heart, that evil thoughts come—sexual immorality, theft, murder, ²² adultery, greed, malice, deceit, lewdness, envy, slander, arrogance and folly. ²³ All these evils come from inside and defile a person.”

I remember many years ago as a young parent seeing the need to shift my focus from merely imposing my will over my kids’ behaviour to instead focus on training their hearts.  Of course, some behaviours need to be immediately stopped to protect children from danger to themselves or others, but the more important long-term focus is to work with them to develop heart attitudes of love, kindness and self-control, not just outward compliance.

It is common human tendency to want to impose behavioural standards that suit us onto others. The Pharisees in Jesus time imposed a series of traditions and rules about washing and outward cleansing that were not in the Bible, but they still expected others to comply.  Jesus speaks up here to rebuke and remind them that they are putting the focus in the wrong area – following rules rather than following the heart (and Word) of God.

This leads me to consider where I may be focused on looking righteous on the outside but neglecting more important attitudes of my heart. Our main care must be to allow God to wash our hearts from sinful, self-centred attitudes in order that we may become more like Him.

Lord, help us to fulfill the desires of Your heart towards us – to not merely aim for an outward compliance to a set of rules, but an inward heart cleansing which outworks in love, kindness and self-control.

Written by Shelley Witt