Out of the Heart of Man

"And he said to them, “Then are you also without understanding? Do you not see that whatever goes into a person from outside cannot defile him, since it enters not his heart but his stomach, and is expelled?” And he said, “What comes out of a person is what defiles him. For from within, out of the heart of man, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, coveting, wickedness, deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride, foolishness. All these evil things come from within, and they defile a person.” Mark 7:18-23

Most everybody has experienced health symptoms like sneezing, runny or stuffy nose, cough and postnasal drip, itchy eyes, nose and throat, watery eyes and dry, scaly skin. You may think that you are suffering from allergies or a cold. But, these symptoms listed are also signs brought on by being around mold. Years ago, the home I was living in had a mold problem. The first sign of the problem was a damp smell in the basement. At first there weren't any noticeable signs of water leaking. A test of the air confirmed the presence of mold. Then one day I noticed the carpet was wet underneath a desk. The items under the desk were wet as well. It turned out that the shower pan, in the adjacent bathroom, was leaking. To make a long story short, we had to rip out the old shower, the pan, portions of the wall, the carpet, take care of the mold, dry out the area and replace everything. We couldn't use the basement for a time while all of this was taking place. Now, imagine you were dealing with these health symptoms and all you did was treat them. Maybe you would go to the doctor and get some medication for your symptoms. On your way home from the doctor you might stop by a pharmacy and purchase some facial tissue, eye drops and skin lotion to help mitigate your symptoms. You may get rid of the symptoms for a short time, but eventually, they would return because the cause of the symptoms, the mold, had not been addressed. Furthermore, if you only dried up the water, cleaned the mold and replaced the carpet, but never fixed the shower, how long would it take before the mold was back and everything you replaced was contaminated again? Not long. My point in all of this is that you have to deal with the root cause of the problem or else you will be dealing with the symptoms repeatedly.

I have noticed a similar tactic taken by Christians when it comes to addressing the problems in the world. Among the many problems in the world are things like homosexuality, racism, abortion, euthanasia, family break-up, pornography, divorce and a whole host of other sins. Many a ministry has dedicated their focus to trying to stop these behaviors on an individual basis or by preventing them from being legally approved of by local and national government. Now, don't get me wrong, it is necessary to oppose these sins so that people will understand they are not acceptable. However, while Christians proclaim from the pulpit, proselytize in the streets and argue in the court of law about the evils of all these sins and the need to turn from them, ultimately, this is just another form of addressing the symptoms and not the cause of the problem. Getting someone to stop a behavior is great, but the problem that caused that behavior will still remain. Therefore, it is just a matter of time before the symptom, the sin, presents itself again. Jesus Christ said that it is a person's heart which is the cause of sinful, evil behavior. In the Old Testament we have a history of sinful behavior by man. It got so bad at one point that God destroyed the entire planet because of the evil behavior that came from the heart of man. However, what did we see after that? We see that once mankind populated the earth again, it wasn't long before the behavior returned. Only this time God didn't destroy the planet, He put His wrath on His Son. Today, we still see these behaviors running rampant on earth. So, trying to get people to stop them by simply pointing out how wrong they are or putting laws in place to prevent or penalize the behavior doesn't stop the behavior or the desire to engage in it. What people need is a change of heart. That change of heart only comes through being born again of the Spirit of God through faith in Jesus Christ. When you accept Jesus Christ and He begins to change your heart, it is only a matter of time that your behavior will follow. In other words, address the cause of the problem and the symptoms will disappear. Stop the leaking water, the mold goes away and the symptoms begin to cease. Come to faith in Jesus Christ, your heart changes and the evil behavior begins to stop. You are clean and no longer defiled.