“And he called the people to him and said to them, ‘Hear and understand: it is not what goes into the mouth that defiles a person, but what comes out of the mouth; this defiles a person.'”
The Pharisees and scribes approached Jesus, questioning why His disciples did not wash their hands when they ate. He answered them by declaring that what goes into a person’s mouth does not make him unclean, but what comes out of his mouth defiles him. Whatever goes into the mouth passes into the stomach and is then expelled, but what comes out of the mouth proceeds from the heart. Our heart produces evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false witness, slander, and etc. Our heart is the root system of the mouth and whatever nutrients we put into our soil determines the quality of the root system. Our life is a tree that stems from the roots and it will produce either good fruit or bad fruit. So what are we going to water and feed our life and heart with? Are we going to digest things that are righteous, pure, and profitable, or are we going to consume things that are wicked, vile, and degrading? We must look to the roots to determine what fruit we will ultimately bear. If our heart is holy, then our speech will follow in the same conduct.
