It’s incredible what comes out of people’s mouths when you have your earphones on in a public place, isn’t it?
And he called the people to him and said to them, Hear and understand: it is not what goes into the mouth that defiles a person, but what comes out of the mouth; this defiles a person. (Matthew 15:10-11 ESV)
I’ve been sitting at a coffee shop with my earphones on trying to get some work done while I people watch from the deep recesses of the corner couch and, as loud as a crashing motorcycle, droves of people, talking as loud as they could to other people on the phone are cursing up multiple storms. It’s pretty scary when you look at it because my music is pretty loud, and my earphones deaden most outside sounds, yet I can still hear such ugly speak through the gaps and silences of sound. Maybe you’ve sat in a situation similar to the one I just described. Maybe you’re the one i’m talking about. Regardless, we need to understand a simple concept: we’re exactly what comes out of our mouths. I know most of us don’t say foul and ugly things, but when we do say them, we are them– those words and feelings came out from us. It isn’t the people that we’re saying them to or against, rather, it is who we are on the inside that is bubbling up out into reality. These ugly, dirty words and phrases are not thoughts or feelings; they are pieces of feces and mud being thrown across the air to whomever is listening. We defile ourselves because those dirty things that usually come out of our south ends, come out from our faces. Jesus points out to the Pharisees and points out this reality. People who are supposed to be godly and good actually defile themselves with this nastiness that they can’t expel except through their mouths. Jesus could have cursed at people and thrown them into the mud with his words, but he instead took the feelings and notions of dirty and transformed them into something magnificent– redeemed creations of the Most High God. He uses his words to give people Good News– the savior has come to save all who believe. Do not be defiled by what comes out of your mouth. Instead use your mouth to build something beautiful. Imagine how many people would be encouraged by your building up. It would even make the bystanders around you want to perk up their ears and hear the good news Jesus gives to your life.
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