Feed Well, Be Well
There is nothing that enters a man from outside which can defile him; but the things which come out of him, those are the things that defile a man. Mark 7:15
It appeared as early as 1826 in France and made its way to the English-speaking world through health writers: “You are what you eat.” Some took it more literally than others, but nutritionally, the idea is that healthy food promotes healthy bodies.
Fair enough. But Jesus had a different take on the idea that what goes into the body influences what the body (person) becomes. The Pharisees and legalists of His day were all about dietary obsession—like straining their drinking water so as not to consume a gnat and thus defile themselves with something unclean (Matthew 23:24). Jesus reminded them that a person is not defiled (made unclean) by what food he eats. Rather, it is what comes out of the heart that renders us clean or unclean. We can’t eat greed, deceit, and other sins (Mark 7:20-23), yet they appear in our life. The heart is the source (Jeremiah 17:9).
Eat well to be well physically. But more importantly, feed your heart on the Word of God and that which honors Him (Philippians 4:8-9).
The pure heart is God’s paradise where He delights to walk. Thomas Watson
Scripture-Twisting Tradition (Mark 7:1-13)
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