Mark 7:21-23 -- On Internal and External sources of Evil

"For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders,
Thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lasciviousness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness:
All these evil things come from within, and defile the man."
Mark 7:21-23


This is an interesting chapter, talking about internal and external influences. Christ starts out talking about many traditions and says that things from outside us can't defile us... "because it entereth not into his heart, but into the belly" (verse 19). I'm sure those things can make us sick... but they can't hurt us spiritually.

In this set of verses, he talks about the things that can hurt us (or kill us) spiritually... things that come FROM us, not from outside us. I think we often want to blame things on an external influence... the devil, or society, or our parents/environment... whatever it is. And maybe some of those things affect us... but we choose that as well. We choose what to let into our hearts, and into our minds, and we *definitely* choose what comes back out of us.

We choose those thoughts and actions that we show to the world every day. And in the long run, what we choose each day to let into our hearts, and what we put back out there... that is who we *are* ... who we become, and who we will present before God on judgment day. Today, let's work on not defiling ourselves further. ;) ... And if we have any extra time after that, maybe we can clean up some of the grime we've already got on our souls.