Heart Check
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
What’s coming out of your mouth lately might be telling you more about your heart than you realize. Have you ever stopped and wondered what’s really in your heart? I’m not talking about blood and valves, I’m talking about the core of who you are. Your thoughts, your intentions, the place where your words and actions are formed. Your mind may direct your steps, but your heart is what influences those directions in the first place. When I talk about a heart check, I’m talking about paying attention to what is truly governing your life and leading your steps.
In today’s scripture, Jesus was addressing the Pharisees and religious leaders. They were focused on outward cleanliness, making sure their hands, cups, and external practices looked right. While there is nothing wrong with being clean and practicing good hygiene, Jesus made it clear that their focus was in the wrong place. Their priorities had become about appearance rather than true purity.
He told them something that still speaks to us today. He said, “It’s not what goes into a person that defiles them, it’s what comes out of them.” In other words, what is in your heart will eventually show up in your words and your actions.
Yes, there are things we can take into our bodies that may affect us physically, but what we allow to take root in our hearts affects us spiritually. Jesus listed the kinds of things that come out of the heart, and they are revealed so clearly through how we speak and how we treat others.
If you begin to hear constant criticism, complaining, or harshness in your words, it’s a sign that something deeper needs attention. If your thoughts are filled with comparison, jealousy, or desire for what someone else has, that’s a clear signal too. These things don’t just appear, they grow from what has been allowed to settle in the heart.
But here is the good news, you are not stuck there. You can grow what is good in your heart by choosing what you feed it. It starts with a decision, and it’s sustained by the grace of God. When you invite Him in, He helps you shift those desires. He empowers you to cultivate love, kindness, patience, and grace. As those things take root, they will begin to overflow in your words and in your actions.
Here are some simple ways to apply this truth and get started today:
- Pay attention to your words throughout the day, notice patterns in how you speak about others and about your circumstances
- Ask God to reveal anything in your heart that doesn’t honor Him, be open and honest in that moment
- Replace negative or critical thoughts with truth, choose to speak life even when it feels unnatural at first
- Spend time in God’s Word daily, let it shape your thinking and influence what fills your heart
- Practice speaking encouragement, find something good to say about others and say it out loud
- Pause before responding in conversations, give yourself a moment to respond with grace instead of reacting emotionally
Today I want to encourage you to take a real and honest look at what’s flowing out of your heart and invite God into that space. He is ready to help you clear out what doesn’t belong and strengthen what does. As you allow Him to work in you, you will begin to see a change, not just in your thoughts, but in your words, your relationships, and your daily life. A healthy heart produces life giving fruit, and that is exactly what He wants to grow in you.
Today’s scripture reading: Mark 7:1-23
1 Then the Pharisees and some of the scribes came together to Him, having come from Jerusalem.
2 Now when they saw some of His disciples eat bread with defiled, that is, with unwashed hands, they found fault.
3 For the Pharisees and all the Jews do not eat unless they wash their hands in a special way, holding the tradition of the elders.
4 When they come from the marketplace, they do not eat unless they wash. And there are many other things which they have received and hold, like the washing of cups, pitchers, copper vessels, and couches.
5 Then the Pharisees and scribes asked Him, “Why do Your disciples not walk according to the tradition of the elders, but eat bread with unwashed hands?”
6 He answered and said to them, “Well did Isaiah prophesy of you hypocrites, as it is written: ‘This people honors Me with their lips, But their heart is far from Me.
7 And in vain they worship Me,
Teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.’
8 For laying aside the commandment of God, you hold the tradition of men —the washing of pitchers and cups, and many other such things you do.”
9 He said to them, “All too well you reject the commandment of God, that you may keep your tradition.
10 For Moses said, ‘Honor your father and your mother’; and, ‘He who curses father or mother, let him be put to death.’
11 But you say, ‘If a man says to his father or mother, “Whatever profit you might have received from me is Corban”—’ (that is, a gift to God),
12 then you no longer let him do anything for his father or his mother,
13 making the word of God of no effect through your tradition which you have handed down. And many such things you do.”
14 When He had called all the multitude to Himself, He said to them, “Hear Me, everyone, and understand:
15 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.
16 If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear!”
17 When He had entered a house away from the crowd, His disciples asked Him concerning the parable.
18 So He said to them, “Are you thus without understanding also? Do you not perceive that whatever enters a man from outside cannot defile him,
19 because it does not enter his heart but his stomach, and is eliminated, thus purifying all foods?”
20 And He said, “What comes out of a man, that defiles a man.
21 For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders,
22 thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lewdness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness.
23 All these evil things come from within and defile a man.”
Journal:
- What have my words been revealing about my heart lately
- Are there any attitudes or thoughts I need to surrender to God today
- What truth from God’s Word can I begin speaking over my life and others
- What is one practical way I can choose kindness and grace in my conversations today
The Daily Dose 