The problem with the Pharisees and scribes was that they had become focused on the externals of faithfulness and should have examined their hearts and efforts to live faithfully. They used ritual purity to exclude people when they should have been using it to express the holiness of God and deepen their relation to God. Jesus tells them that the heart is more important than the traditional
purity rituals.
The heart is the centre of human will, rationality, desire, and where all our intentions come from. Defilement is deep within the human heart. Defilement is more about who we are than the food we prepare or eat.
Jesus mentions fornication, theft, murder, adultery, coveting, wickedness, deceit, licentiousness, envy, slander, pride, and foolishness. He
says all these evil things come out of man's heart, and because they come from within, they defile a person. Being faithful to religious observances does not mean we are closer to God, nor does it guarantee that.
Examine your heart today and ask the Lord to draw you closer.
Reflections by Morongoa Selepe