That Which Defileth

On one occasion the scribes and Pharisees came to Jesus with this criticism: “Why do thy disciples transgress the tradition of the elders? for they wash not their hands when they eat bread.”  In part of His response to this, the Savior said, “Hear, and understand: Not that which goeth into the mouth defileth a man; but that which cometh out of the mouth, this defileth a man.”  When Peter questioned Him further, He said, “Whatsoever entereth in at the mouth goeth into the belly, and is cast out into the draught?  But those things which proceed out of the mouth come forth from the heart; and they defile the man.  For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies: These are the things which defile a man: but to eat with unwashen hands defileth not a man” (Matthew 15:2, 11, 17-20).  The practice of the Jews to wash their hands before eating was apparently part of the oral tradition and was not actually in the Law of Moses, and so the Savior felt no need to follow that tradition.  He helped us to understand that being physically clean is of far less importance than being spiritual pure and clean before the Lord. 

               As I’ve thought about this passage of scripture, I can imagine those who don’t believe in the Word of Wisdom—in particular the prohibition of taking certain things into your body—using Christ’s words as apparent evidence against what we accept as revelation from God.  The argument might go something like this, “Since Christ said that the things that ‘goeth into the mouth’ do not make a man or woman impure, then surely drinking tea or coffee or alcohol does not make us impure before God.”  Here’s how I might respond to that line of reasoning.  He said this to the people at a time when the Law of Moses—really the Law of God given to Moses—was in effect.  The Law of Moses had many prohibitions about what can be eaten and taken into the body.  We read this specific command for example, “Thou shalt not eat any abominable thing….  Ye shall not eat of them that chew the cud, or of them that divide the cloven hoof; as the camel, and the hare, and the coney: for they chew the cud, but divide not the hoof; therefore they are unclean unto you.  And the swine, because it divideth the hoof, yet cheweth not the cud, it is unclean unto you: ye shall not eat of their flesh (Deuteronomy 14:3, 7-8).  This command was observed by God’s people until Christ revealed to Peter that the law had been fulfilled.  Peter was so used to the prohibitions in the law that when the Lord told him to eat of ritually unclean beasts he responded, “Not so, Lord; for I have never eaten any thing that is common or unclean” (Acts 10:14).  Christ of course knew of the prohibitions to eat certain things, and so He could not have meant by His statement on unwashen hands that God would never command us not to eat of some particular food.  In fact, if we think about it, one of the very first commandments the Lord ever gave was to not eat of a certain type of fruit.  So there’s no reason that in our dispensation He might not have given commandments related to what we take into our bodies.              

               Viewed from another angle, I believe we can similarly state that taking alcohol or tea or coffee or anything else the Word of Wisdom does not defile us.  At the core, we don’t keep the Word of Wisdom because of its health benefits (and there are many); rather, we do it because the Lord commanded it.  So while we do believe it a sin to use these substances once we have been sufficiently taught, it is not the substances themselves that defile us.  It is our willful disobedience and rebellion to God.  The Lord has indeed spoken and given us code of health to live by—our most important reason for following it is to obey the commandment of the Lord, for as He said, “Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven” (Matt. 7:21).  It is disobedience which defileth us.