"Listen, Jesus said, and try to understand. It is not what goes into your mouth that defiles you; you are defiled by the words that come out of your mouth!"
It is not what you eat that defiles you. It is the words that come out of your mouth that defile you! Many religious sects have prohibitions about what they can eat and what they can not eat. They spend a great deal of time and a lot of energy worrying about what they eat. Is it kosher? Does this food product have animal components? Is this a sea food product that has scales? Is this an animal that is forbidden to eat? The threshold question that Jesus is responding to here is that it is not what we eat or put in our mouths that defile us, it is the words that come out of our mouth that defile us! Try and understand, that out of the abundance of the heart or mind the mouth speaks, that is what defiles you. That is the truth for today.
You are not going to be defiled and unclean in the sight of God because of what you ate or let enter your mouth. It all ends up the same way in the refuse of the body. What really matters is what is in your heart and what you believe. Out of the abundance of your heart your mouth will either bring forth blessings or cursing. Your words will make you unclean or defiled not your food. This is offensive to many religious leaders and they will be indignant if you attack their traditions and self imposed rules and regulations that give them power and authority. These traditions and practices are useless because they are not teaching the commands and words of the Lord, but those of men.
We should disregard those who impose false doctrines. They are blind guides and teachers and if you follow them they will lead and you will both fall into the ditch. So the message is to be very careful about what comes out of your mouth. Your words will defile or bless you, not your diet. You will be clean or unclean, defiled or undefiled, honored or dishonored by what you say! When the Lord enters your heart He will clean it up and the words of your mouth will honor Him. So listen to others and listen to yourself to determine whether the words are defiled or undefiled. Examine your heart by listening to your mouth. WHAT DID YOU SAY?
