Trying to Impress
Out of the heart come evil thoughts . . . . These are what defile a person.
Matthew 15:19-20
When a college class went on a cultural field trip, the instructor almost didn’t recognize one of his star pupils. In the classroom she had concealed six-inch heels beneath her pant legs. But in her walking boots she was less than five feet tall. “My heels are how I want to be,” she laughed. “But my boots are how I really am.”
Our physical appearance doesn’t define who we are; it’s our heart that matters. Jesus had strong words for those masters of appearances—the super-religious “Pharisees and teachers of the law.” They asked Jesus why His disciples didn’t wash their hands before eating, as their religious traditions dictated (Matthew 15:1-2). Jesus asked, “Why do you break the command of God for the sake of your tradition?” (v. 3). Then He pointed out how they had invented a legal loophole to keep their wealth instead of caring for their parents (vv. 4-6), thus dishonoring them and violating the fifth commandment (Exodus 20:12).
If we obsess over appearances while looking for loopholes in God’s clear commands, we’re violating the spirit of His law. Jesus said that “out of the heart come evil thoughts—murder, adultery, sexual immorality,” and the like (Matthew 15:19). Only God, through the righteousness of His Son Jesus, can give us a clean heart.
By Tim Gustafson
REFLECT & PRAY
When our motive is to impress others, we’re not impressing God.
Lord, we are so prone to rely on our own efforts to impress You and others. Help us to be authentic in all our relationships, and to enjoy the restored heart we can have through Your forgiveness.
Your gift changes lives. Help us share God’s love with millions every day.
INSIGHT
When Jerusalem leaders asked Jesus why His disciples ignored the custom of ritual washing (Matthew 15:1-2), He quoted one of their own prophets. Seven hundred years earlier, Isaiah warned about the danger of honoring God with their mouths while their hearts remained far from Him (Isaiah 29:13; Matthew 15:7-8). Rules of religious compliance have never been a good substitute for the kind of water and washing Jesus gives (see John 13:1-17). Mart DeHaan
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