There is nothing outside a person that by going into him can defile him, but the things that come out of a person are what defile him. – Mark 10:14 (ESV)

“Goodness Gracious!” “Jiminy!” “Good Golly!” And, occasionally, “Uffda”. Laugh if you want, but these are actually phrases that come out of my mouth when surprised or startled. I have many issues and sins that I struggle with in my life (just ask my family), but bad language isn’t one of them. Why not? Likely because I don’t put that into my mind. It bothers me to watch movies with a lot of bad language and I don’t surround myself with people who talk that way (at least they don’t in front of me).

In Mark 7:14-15 we read: And he [Jesus] called the people to him again and said to them, “Hear me, all of you, and understand: There is nothing outside a person that by going into him can defile him, but the things that come out of a person are what defile him.” And Mark 7:20-23 gets more specific: And he said, “What comes out of a person is what defiles him. For from within, out of the heart of man, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, coveting, wickedness, deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride, foolishness. All these evil things come from within, and they defile a person.”

There are two parts of this that need to be addressed. First, what does it mean to defile yourself? Here are some definitions I found for defile: to spoil; to make dirty; to corrupt; to take away the purity, honor, or goodness of. Second, for something to come out, it must be in, right? So, how does that list of what comes out of the heart get into the heart?

Think of the song O Be Careful Little Eyes.

O be careful little eyes what you see
O be careful little eyes what you see
For the Father up above
Is looking down in love
So, be careful little eyes what you see

The other verses are O be careful little ears what you hear, little tongue what you say, hands what you do, feet where you go, heart whom you trust, and mind what you think. All of these put ideas/thoughts into our minds. Once there, we use our minds to decide what to do with the thought. Are we going to take it captive and make it obedient to Christ (2 Corinthians 10:50)? Are we going to let it conform us to the world or transform us to be renewed to know God’s will (Romans 12:2)?

Other verses can give us more clarity and direction.

1 Corinthians 15:33: Do not be deceived: “Bad company ruins good morals.” Or, “corrupts good character” (NIV)

Psalm 119:11: I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you.

What you put in (read, watch, listen to, etc.) and who you surround yourself with (face-to-face, groups online, etc.) WILL come out. God goes so far as to warn us not to be deceived about such things. Luke 6:45 says, “For the mouth speaks what the heart is full of.” And it’s not just the words from our mouths. It’s our actions, inaction’s, attitudes, etc. Be aware that what comes out reveals our hearts – as clean or unclean. The choice is up to us.