BUT THEIR HEART IS FAR FROM ME
TUESDAY 22
“ ‘These people draw near to Me with their mouth, And honour Me with their lips, But their heart is far from Me.”
Matthew 15:8 (NKJV)
READ: Matthew 15:1–20
How someone looks outwardly matters most in some religions of the world. They have a strict dress code for women, and how men should also look matters to them. These people may look sanctimonious and pious that when you see them you will think you have seen a holy or godly person, but things seen outwardly about them do not really give the true state or picture of them.
Such people draw near to God with their mouth and honour Him with their lips, but their heart is far from God. Now, there are so-called believers who are like that as well. Such would look like a person of God but characterwise they are far from God (2 Timothy 3:5; Titus 1:16).
God is not demanding outward perfection from anyone but what you are inwardly. What oozes out of your heart matters most to God than whatever appearance you put up—how you look outwardly (1 Samuel 16:7; Isaiah 55:8,9). God does not see as man sees. It is not by the appearance of a man. God does not judge according to the look of a person.
In short, the emphasis is much attention or focus should not be on how you look before people but what God could see going on the inside of you. If you can be transformed on the inside, and your mind and thinking are renewed (Romans 12:2) your physical outlook or appearance will change and be acceptable to God.
What should first of all be focused on is how you can be changed on the inside; when you are transformed on the inside, it will automatically manifest on the outside. What I used to like, and the way I used to look when I was not mature spiritually, are not appealing to me again, now that I am mature in the things of the spirit.
In Jesus’ words in the passage, what defiles is not eating with unwashed hands but what you think in your
heart, what proceeds from your heart—evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness,
blasphemies—are the things which defile a person. Albeit, to eat with unwashed hands or dress in a certain way does not defile a person (Matthew 15:18–20).
God accepts a person based on the condition of his heart. If you are accepted by God based on the condition of your heart, how you look outwardly may not matter much to Him. Jesus never emphasized in His teachings about outward appearance, because that was what the Pharisees were doing and they were hypocritical about it (Matthew 23:5,25–28).
Although, a change might be needed in how you look outwardly but that would be done gradually according to your maturity, the extent of the change on your inside.
If you are transformed or changed on your inside, how to change outwardly would not be a big issue. In fact, no
one will tell the person who is transformed on the inside to change his outlook or dressing. The Holy Spirit and his recreated human spirit would do the work of convincing him on how to look and dress.
Thus, the emphasis should not be how a new believer should look at all but how such should be transformed inwardly.
The thinking of the person should get transformed first, the rest about the outward appearance will be history.
Peace.
Reflect:
• Is your closeness to God only in your mouth while your heart is elsewhere?
• Where is your heart really?
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