So very often we are more concerned about what we look like, what we own, the image we project, and on and on and on……instead of being concerned about what is the most important thing about us…….that is….what is inside our heart, what our motivations are and who we are at the core of our being. Jesus uses the example of the Pharisees who were so concerned about being “dirtied” on the outside that they missed the whole point of who they were on the inside! It is not what we put on, surround ourselves with or make ourselves look like….it is what we put in our minds and what we put in our spirits that makes us clean and whole, fulfilled and full of joy.
Mark 7:14-19 (TNIV)
14 Again Jesus called the crowd to him and said, “Listen to me, everyone, and understand this. 15 Nothing outside you can defile you by going into you. Rather, it is what comes out of you that defiles you.” 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 you from the outside can defile you? 19 For it doesn’t go into your heart but into your stomach, and then out of your body.” (In saying this, Jesus declared all foods clean.)
It certainly is important to be concerned about what we eat and what we put in our bodies. Indeed, we want a healthy body which leads to a healthy mind. But this is not what Jesus is talking about here….he is talking less about health and more about outward appearances.
The Pharisees believed that if they ate the wrong things, touched the wrong things that they would be dirty before God….and they insisted on judging others by their standard (which was far from God’s standard). They created laws about food (and many other things) that made it hard for anyone, and in many ways, anyone but them to feel acceptable before God.
The heart of God’s laws concerning the food that was eaten was this: 1. Many foods were forbidden for health reasons. The forbidden foods were usually scavenger animals, animals that ate dead animals. Disease was often transmitted through them. 2. Some were forbidden because they distinguished the Hebrews from other nations that were pagan and used these foods in pagan sacrifices (pigs). 3. Some were forbidden because of an association that was objectionable, such as snakes and lizards that were reminders of the serpent, a common symbol for sin.
I believe that God instituted these laws to help the people live a healthy life. Yet, what the Pharisees did was turn them into laws and taught that the laws themselves determined closeness to God. Indeed they expanded these laws into how food was prepared and more!
Jesus set the record straight! Jesus made it clear that what is important is that we surround ourselves with healthy practices for our mind and body.
Sure, don’t eat food that is laden with disease, in fact…..don’t do things that expose yourself to disease Hmmmmmm……STD’s come to mind here, sex outside marriage, promiscuity. You can probably think of others.
Don’t associate yourself with things that will lead you deep into worldly ways. Hmmmm…….drugs, drunkenness, lewd language and behavior comes to mind here). Again, you can probably think of others.
Be concerned about what goes IN your mind that TEARS DOWN your moral defenses. Hmmmmm….some TV shows and movies come to mind here. Places we frequent…….bars, etc.
Does it mean you are forbidden to watch TV or to go into a bar? No! What it means is that you should be concerned about what you do, and realize that many things we do lead to us justifying immorality and sin. The point is not to say that all these things are sinful, the point is to search your heart and apply things with the right heart.
Cuss words aren’t sinful…..offending those around you is sinful.
Going into a bar or drinking isn’t sinful……..getting drunk and breaking laws (by driving), lowering your moral compass by heightening your desire through drugs and alcohol is sinful.
These are health practices for your mind, your heart and spirit. Want to be healthier? Don’t only count the calories, the milligrams of salt and the milligrams fat……but also count the things that throw off your moral compass and cause you to stumble or cause others around you to stumble. It is what we put in our minds and what we put in our spirits that makes us clean and whole, fulfilled and full of joy.
Hey Jan thanks,
I do not see where you got your reasoning of why God gave the dietary laws? Do you have a source?
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When we look at the dietary “laws” of Leviticus 11 and Deuteronomy 14 for perspective I think we need to go back to where we all came from and the fact that we were all, including the animals – created vegetarians this is before sin. Genesis 1: 29 “Then God said, “I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for food. 30 And to all the beasts of the earth and all the birds in the sky and all the creatures that move along the ground—everything that has the breath of life in it—I give every green plant for food.” And it was so.”
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I am sure at some point some people may have started eating lamb and other animals after Jesus sacrificed the first lamb (slain from the foundation of the world) when Adam and Eve sinned and successive sacrifices (i.e. Abel’s and so on). If you simply look at what happened after the flood mans lifespan was decreased from Noah’s 950 years to “120 years” (Genesis 6:3) this is surely when animal consumption would have increased due to the destruction of vegetation on the earth and the arks supplies running out after reaching dry land when the flood waters receded. You also will note that Noah prior to the formal written giving of dietary instruction was to take 7 pairs of “clean” animals which where certainly for Noah and his family to survive on when required and this certainly indicates that Noah and possibly those before him were given dietary instruction.
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Genesis 7:2 Take with you seven pairs of every kind of clean animal, a male and its mate, and one pair of every kind of unclean animal, a male and its mate, 3 and also seven pairs of every kind of bird, male and female, to keep their various kinds alive throughout the earth.
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I believe God is definitely teaching us the lesser of the “evils” in diet and wants us to be as healthy as possible which is a vegan diet that we are designed and created for and the dietary regulations are purely health oriented.
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Many, many reputable health studies show that heart disease, cancer, bone loss, arthritis, diabetes and many other diseases humans have are directly caused by animal product consumption. If you look at these studies they show as the SAD (standard american diet) moves around the globe so do the diseases associated with it. Aside from poor genetics which exist due to sinful living SDA medical centers are able to cure diabetes, restore bone loss, even cure depression, and many other “diseases” simply by removing the cause, getting proper exercise and with the health precepts from Gods Word (this means NO medication) . Our church as you may know is very health oriented and owns all Florida Hospitals, Centra Cares and many hospitals and health facilities worldwide.
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As you know our bodies are the temple of the Holy Spirit and we are not to defile them also “everything we do (eat drink etc) is to be done solely to glorify God.
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love ya man ejs
Love you too Eric! 🙂
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If you are speaking of my statement, “I believe that God instituted these laws to help the people see that what is important is what is in our heart.”, I would say that when I was writing this, my head was thinking one thing (that Jesus was telling this parable for this reason) and my hands were typing something else. In other words, I agree that this is poorly worded. This is sometime the problem when I write something every day early in the morning and only have time to proofread it once. Thank you for pointing this out 🙂
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My intention was not to say that God’s original meaning was to give these dietary laws to see that what is important is what’s in one’s heart. Indeed, the paragraph above (beginning with “The heart of God’s laws concerning the food that was eaten was this:” explains God’s intention.
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I have changed that sentence to read, “I believe that God instituted these laws to help the people live a healthy life.”
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Thank you for seeing this and commenting 🙂 I appreciate you bro! God bless 🙂