Isaiah prophesied correctly about you hypocrites, as it is written: ‘These people honor Me with their lips, but their hearts are far from Me. They worship Me in vain; they teach as doctrine the precepts of men.’ You have disregarded the commandment of God to keep the tradition of men.
Mark 7:6-8
BSB
Read Mark 7 in a modern translation BSB
Read the whole chapter (Mark 7)
With the lips
It started with a complaint from Pharisees and scribes. Jesus' disciples were eating with unwashed hands, against the tradition of the elders. Jesus answered with words of the prophet Isaiah, spoken to Jerusalem more than seven hundred years earlier: this people honours God with words, but the heart isn't in it. Human traditions had taken the place of God's commandment.
Rules aren't bad, but they can become a screen. You can sing and pray the right words while your heart is somewhere else. Almost everyone knows that. The danger isn't a moment of wandering, but getting used to it.
Question for today
Which words do I say or sing to God without my heart taking part?
Prayer
Lord, you hear more than my words. Let my mouth and my heart say the same thing. Amen.
My prayer
With your own thought · only on this deviceOne of the 491 words of Jesus on this site, from the temple to Revelation. See all the words in order →