Regurgitaion


Mark 7: 14-15 (NIV)
“Again Jesus called the crowd to him and said, “Listen to me, everyone, and understand this. Nothing outside a person can defile them by going into them. Rather it is what comes out of a person that defiles them.””

The question originally posed by the Pharisees and teachers of the law was, why did his disciples not follow the tradition of washing their hands before eating? His answer however covers a much broader area of discussion. He condemned the Pharisees hypocritical attitude and nullifying the word of God through their human traditions. We may find ourselves in situations today where human traditions have been passed down and followed blindly, that contradict the word of God. For example going out drinking to celebrate, we are violating the commandments of God by taking part in drunkenness.

Let us look at other areas as well. The shows we watch, books we read, music we listen to and conversations we have, in themselves do not defile us. However if we are idolizing them, prioritizing them above God then we are not living in obedience to God. If you are watching TV and you find yourself coveting or lusting, than you are not living in obedience to God’s word. Having conversations and listening to others point of view does not defile us as long as we still align our responses and point of views with the Bible.

Do you ever find yourself singing a song, a song that gets stuck in your head and you continually are singing it. Do you ever think if that song is pleasing to God? The radio in my car has not worked in over a year and I find myself singing songs that are stuck in my head. Occasionally a song that I listened to growing up and liked will be stuck in my head. I realize that the lyrics and for me to be gleefully singing those words are not pleasing to God.  I rarely listen to music at home so the songs that are typically stuck in my head are hymns from church.  

Though there are TV shows/movies, songs/genres of music, and books/magazines that I used to read and enjoy. The cause, me digesting the scenes, lyrics, pictures, and verses and the effect, my outward actions together are not pleasing to God. I had to make a huge transition, I threw away some DVDs, deleted some of my Pandora stations and created a praise and worship one, and trying to consciously read the Bible at least as much as other material. Just like with food, the healthier or “cleaner” the input the “better” the outward results will be.

Challenge: Evaluate yourself. Though what goes in does not defile, look at the cause and effect. Does your outward actions cause for a change in what you are “digesting?” Do you blindly follow human traditions without seeing if you are breaking a commandment of God?

 “If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” Romans 10:9 (NIV)

Comments

Post a Comment

Most Popular

Do you know what is right?

Proverbs 28:5 (NIV) “Evildoers do not understand what is right, but those who seek the Lord understand it fully.” I want to focus on the second half of this verse. Those who seek the Lord understand what is right. How do you seek the Lord? You should be spending time with him in prayer, reading the Bible, going to church and Bible studies. If you are not doing any of these things than I dare to say that you are not seeking the Lord. If you want to know what is right and wrong you need to read the Bible and seek the Lord God. When I seek advice I will only consult with those who I know are seeking the Lord. I do not want to get advice from someone who is engulfed by the world. Wisdom comes from the Lord and if they do not have an apparent relationship with God then I question any “wisdom” that they try to share with me. If someone says something that does not sound scriptural I urge you to question it and have them show you in the Bible and the context. It is ...
Read more

How do you answer temptation?

Matthew 4:3-4 (NIV) "The tempter came to him and said, "If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread." Jesus answered, "It is written that man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God." (Deuteronomy 8:3) How do you react when you know you are being tempted? Do you pray, do you give in, do you do? Ever think that it is impossible to not give in to the temptation? What happens when you fail and give in to the temptation to sin? Do you get mad with yourself after you sin? I know that the devil knows our weaknesses and we will be tempted in those areas. God allows us to be tempted and God knows our weaknesses as well. In 1 Corinthians 10:13 Paul writes, "No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it." There is a...
Read more

Self Reflection.

Galatians 6:4-5 (NIV) "Each one should test their own actions. Then they can take pride in themselves alone, without comparing themselves to someone else, for each one should carry their own load." Here we are told to not compare ourselves to others. If we are constantly comparing ourselves to others we will be constantly let down. We may not be as good as someone, give as much as another, and so on. We are called to test our own actions. Are we doing the best that we can? Are we helping those in need when we have plenty? Are we devoting time to the Lord? Or can we do more, do better? We are to take part in self evaluation, mutually exclusive to others. We are to examine our actions alone and determine if we can do more or do better and then strive to do that. If we are doing all that we can do and we are carrying our own load, then we can take pride in our actions. We may not have all of the information when we look at others externally and we may not be able to accurat...
Read more