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Enjoy Life, Enjoy God


Dale Patterson

DIRTY?

May 24, 2011

Why do we call a word "dirty?"  George Carlin had a popular comedy routine about dirty words, but he wasn't the first.  Jesus challenged our misconceptions about what makes something "dirty."

 
"Isaiah was right when he prophesied about your hypocrites; as it is written:
'These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me.'"                                                                                                        Mark 7:6
 
We humans continue to apply the word "dirty" to externals and the superficial while overlooking what's happening on the inside.  Jews had elaborate washing rituals to cleanse the outside to which Jesus, a Jew himself said, "You miss the point.  It's not your hands that need a bath, but your hearts, minds, your very being."
  
Beware when our religious practice focuses on externals: what people wear, eat, drink, yet overlooks the soul, the heart,.    David prayed for a clean heart, and knew if it were so, God would have to give him a bath (Psalm 51)...and God did for us all in Jesus Christ.
 
Joyfully,
 
Dale Patterson