Examine the habits

"If I'd known it was so easy I should have done it sooner."  I was on  my way  home with my new phone.  I had dreaded getting a new phone.  My old phone was just the right size for all my pockets.  The new fangled phones were bigger.  My old phone housed hundreds of my photos.  It would take days to transfer or preserve them.  So I held onto my old phone through several technological improvements.  When the phone wouldn't stay charged I knew it was time.  I had to move on.

Yes, my new phone is bigger and doesn't quite fit in all my pockets.  But, the protective case is gorgeous and I love the look.  Now I have a new improved option for accessing and preserving my precious photos.  The new phone even had all my apps. 

Wow!  Why did I wait so long?  I was comfortable and had my own phone tradition.

In Mark 7:1-23 Jesus confronted the Pharisees with their worship of tradition before worship of God.  The Pharisees challenged Jesus' disciples pattern of hand washing and the lack of it.  clean hands were important to the Pharisees.  Jesus came back with the heart of their problem and quoted from Isaiah:  "These people honor me with their lips but their hearts are far from me.  They worship me in vain; their teachings are but rules taught by men."

Jesus pointed out that they forget the commands of God to hold to the traditions of men.  He even  illustrated His point with an example of how their own tradition would nullify God's commands.  Then He turned to the crowd and further made His point that nothing from outside a man which goes into the man makes him unclean.  It is what comes out of the man that makes him unclean.

Later, the disciples asked Jesus about the confrontation. Again Jesus explained that it's not what enters a man from the outside that makes him unclean.  The food doesn't go into his heart, it just passes through his body.  What comes out of man makes him unclean.  Then He listed what comes out of men's hearts:  evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, greed, malice, deceit, lewdness, envy, slander, arrogance and folly.  Yikes, no amount of hand washing will make a person clean with that kind of heart!

Jesus enlightened those dull disciples.  His message was you need a clean heart to connect with God.  You can't make your heart clean by extra hand washing.  You need a Savior!

The Pharisees thought that proper methods and traditions would keep a person clean.  They thought keeping clean was the priority.  Jesus challenged them.  He reminded them that their heart should be connected to God and the priority in life is to honor and worship God, not to check up on the cleanliness of hands.

I have a confession.  I have wrestled with this section of scripture for over a week.  I think I'm afraid to face my similar issue. 

Do I have traditions or customs that prevent me from honor and worship of God, and not me?

 Do these traditions or comforts keep me from a clear connection with God?

Is my priority for life  preserving my version of my life or does God have a much better way of life as my destiny?

Technology continues to change.  They claim it's an improvement but every so often I long for the simple days of Windows XP.  Technology has us trapped.  We are dependent on it, lost when it fails us.  So we have to adapt.

There  is One Unchangeable in life- God.  Jesus came to give me the opportunity for a clean heart and a  clear connection. 

I need to examine my habits and evaluate if the habit prevents me from honor and worship of God.  

Do I cling to the habit and even worship the habit? My habits may make me feel comfortable but do they connect me to God? 

My habits, customs and traditions have not nor will not make me clean before God.  Jesus listed what a human heart can contain and produce. Only a Savior will make my heart clean before God.  Hallelujah, I have a Savior.