Proverbs 13:2 “From the fruit of his lips a man enjoys good things, but the unfaithful have a craving for violence.”
This verse is addressing a heart condition, the same heart condition that Jesus addresses in Matthew 15. Jesus is giving a lesson about purity; he was getting questioned by the Pharisees and other teachers as to why the disciples had broken from tradition and eaten without washing their hands. Jesus eventually turns to the crowd to teach a simple lesson.
“Jesus called the crowd to him and said, “Listen and understand. What goes into a man’s mouth does not make him ‘unclean,’ but what comes out of his mouth, that is what makes him ‘unclean.’” (Matt 15:10-11)
Of course this was a confusing statement for the people; generation after generation had followed Old Testament law for determining clean and unclean. The confusion prompted Peter to ask Jesus to explain.
“’Are you still so dull?’ Jesus asked them. ‘Don’t you see that whatever enters the mouth goes into the stomach and then out of the body? But 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.’” (Matt 15:16-20)
It is easy to take a “finger pointing” view of this verse and use it to explain why some people treat us a certain way or maybe they respond to a gesture you intended as kind with hatred. How often do you reflect on your thoughts? Your language? Or how you respond to a negative person? What does that say about your heart? These are questions we do not like to answer and ones we typically avoid answering honestly about ourselves.
It is so much easier to use these verses for comfort or to justify rather than conduct a critical self assessment. How much easier is it to say, “Oh she/he is just a bitter and hateful person.” - than to say, “Where did those thoughts come from? God change my heart.” We need to avoid following the examples of the Pharisees and getting caught up in the mere tradition and appearance of what we should do – we need to allow our hearts to be changed. If the heart is changed, the outside will follow.
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