The Inwardly and the Outwardly

Devotional 

Thursday, January 30, 2025

The Inwardly and the Outwardly

Mark.7.21 - 23- For from within, out of a person's heart, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, greed, wickedness, deceit, eagerness for lustful pleasure, envy, slander, pride, and foolishness. All these vile things come from within; they are what defile you and make you unacceptable to God."

In today's text, Jesus reacted to the queries of the Pharisees about ceremonial cleansing, a tradition of the Jews which pays more attention to bodily cleansing at the expense of the spiritual. He emphasized the fact that the cleansing of the heart is more crucial than the physical cleansing. Because, the immoral and ungodly characters displayed by people are worse than eating without washing hands.

“Cleaningness is next to godliness”, a common statement everywhere but the dirtiness of your body cannot disapprove of you before God. That is why Christianity believes that the smell of the toilet doesn't hamper the presence of God, if that is the only place available to pray or meditate, you are good to go. This is not to justify physical dirtiness but that we should not be hypocritical about it. 

There are a lot of connections between the Inward and the outward. The Inward controls the outward, and not the other way round. You are not a sinner because of what you eat once it has been Sanctified. This is lessening the burden of the law of dos and don'ts that pervade the religious atmosphere. Your heart matters to God more than your physical display of piety. 

You can be pious and lustful or even adulterous at the same time. Men may judge you by your physical piety, but God knows and judges the inner lust as well. So, don't just wash the outside of the pot, keep the inside clean as well. Don't just protect your body from germs while you neglect the sanctity of your heart. Your hygienic principles must be both outwardly and inwardly. 

Further Readings: Joel 2:12-18; Psalm 1; Mark 7:1-23

Prayers:

Oh gracious Lord, help me to overcome the dangers of religiosity and error of human principles which promote physical piety that mostly undermine God's ultimate desire for inner purification. I pray in Jesus Christ’s name. Amen