Presented by Julie Busteed

Does this sound familiar? “Cleanliness is next to godliness.” While cleanliness is certainly a good thing, this well-known saying isn’t actually in the Bible. But Jesus does speak very clearly about what true cleanliness really is.

What goes into someone’s mouth does not defile them, but what comes out of their mouth, that is what defiles them (Matthew 15:11).

To defile means to make unclean or impure. In the Old Testament, there were many dietary laws about what was permissible to eat. By the time of the New Testament, the Pharisees had added even more regulations, creating an elaborate and often burdensome system of external rules.

In this passage, the Pharisees question Jesus because his disciples are not ceremonially washing their hands before eating. But as he so often does, Jesus goes straight to the heart of the issue.

It’s not about external rituals. It’s about the condition of the heart.

What you eat does not make you spiritually unclean. What flows out of your mouth—your words—reveal what is already inside. Words flow from the heart.

Jesus explains it this way: Out of the heart come evil thoughts—murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander. These are what defile a person; but eating with unwashed hands does not defile them (Matthew 15:19–20).

That’s sobering. There are many proverbs in Scripture warning us about the power of the tongue. James tells us we must learn to tame it, comparing it to the small rudder of a ship—tiny, yet able to steer the entire vessel. In the same way, our words set the direction of our lives.

But the tongue is only the messenger. The source is the heart.

Ask yourself: What are you feeding your heart? What are you allowing into your mind and soul? Because whatever fills the heart will eventually overflow into your words and actions.

True cleanliness begins on the inside. And that’s where Jesus longs to do his transforming work.