Unclean

I don't think we have big problems worrying about what we put in our bodies and thinking, "Oh no. This will make me unclean before God." Although I believe my wife would argue differently, I still think for most people it's not an issue. We haven't grown up and had Jewish customs and OT law a part of us. So, when we read Mark 7:1-23 we probably have a hard time truly grasping what the big deal was.

Jesus was eating. Yummy. Pharisees saw Jesus and his disciples "eating food with hands that were unclean."

First of all, gross. Wash up man. But, this was more than just not washing up before supper. This was law and Jesus was breaking it and "tainting" the food he was eating and therefore hurting his cleanliness with God. Mark makes it a point to share some Jewish traditions to his readers to help fill them in and what Mark really seems to stress here is "tradition."

Here is where I'm going with this: what are we holding on to?

Jesus gets direct in this encounter. "You hypocrites....You have let go of the commands of God..." That's not good. And as we look into this reading we think, "Man, those poor, poor Pharisees, they just couldn't get it right." Ha. We tend to be this way too!

We worry with the "how" and mechanics and truly do end up avoiding the most important part. God. In all of our attempts to bring us closer to God and the devices we make up to get us there, we accidentally forget the purpose. We end up "holding on to the traditions of man."

You may not like this, but I don't believe God is too concerned with traditions. I just don't. I read this passage in particular and I become more convinced of that. God wants us to find great ways that are God honoring and uplifting, but I don't think he wants us to fight and hold on to them. He wants us to hold on to Him. Period.

Further, what's more important to God is "what comes out of us." Not the traditions and activities we put in, but what we do with the word of God and how we live it.

Yes, not cleaning your hands before supper is not the healthiest choice you can make. But, Jesus knew exactly what he was doing and he did it to prove a point. Wash your hands. Clean up. But if you are all fancy on the outside, dolled up with your good looks and don't move, act, live in a Godly way, you're unclean.

I want to ask a question an I hope you'll answer by leaving a comment on this post. I want to hear from you! This thought isn't over, but I want to have some blog convos about it.

What is something we hold onto that tends to push God out of the way?