Defiled

Why do thy disciples transgress the tradition of the elders? for they wash not their hands when they eat bread.

3 But he answered and said unto them, Why do ye also transgress the commandment of God by your tradition?

Not that which goeth into the mouth defileth a man; but that which cometh out of the mouth, this defileth a man.

Do not ye yet understand, that whatsoever entereth in at the mouth goeth into the belly, and is cast out into the draught?

18 But those things which proceed out of the mouth come forth from the heart; and they defile the man.

19 For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies:

20 These are the things which defile a man: but to eat with unwashen hands defileth not a man

Matthew 15:2-3, 11, 17-20

When you're looking around for possible causes for illnesses, it would do you great good to also check for spiritual symptoms as well. See, I can come complaining of aches and pains and never understand where it's coming from. Let's say my head hurts. That can be caused by any number of things. But before I run head to the doctor and have them run all sorts of expensive tests, first let me examine myself and see what I've been doing to cause it. Let's see, in the hours prior I had to take an exam, I had been out working in the hot sun, and I hadn't very much water to drink. I am also upset with my neighbor because every time I go outside, he yells at me. It makes me upset and it's stressful for me.

Alright, so right away I have a number of situations that can cause a physical problem if not a mental and emotional one too. The test is done, it's over with. Perhaps I'm still stressed about the results. If I could do something to take my mind off it, that would be better. Alright, the hot sun isn't a fixable problem, and neither is hard work. At least, it's not always. Then let's see what the other issues are. There is the matter of not drinking very much water. I should probably fix that if I'm able. I should be drinking about six to eight glasses of water or other fluids a day unless I've been working in which case it should probably be more. However, you also don't want to drink too much either because that can cause other issues. Now, I'm upset with the neighbor. I have been outside, and he has yelled at me. I was already feeling bad about that before I ever went outside and now, I feel worse. I could always go back outside and resolve the situation with him. I could tell him it's not appropriate and discuss whatever occurred between us to cause the tension. Any further trouble and I can get someone else involved to also have a tasteful chat with him.

Now, it's been two hours since the headache began. I'm inside and I'm resting where it's nice and cool. I've been drinking plenty of fluids and it's starting to feel a tiny bit better. I think I'll go take a nap and then call you when I wake up. What do you think? Let's say though that I wake up and it hasn't gotten better. In fact, it's gotten a whole lot worse. I think now is the appropriate time to head to the doctor or maybe even the hospital.

Maybe Jesus isn't saying those same exact words. We know that germs or little things on the hands that cannot be seen, can spread disease. They go from contact with infected clothing and surfaces and a person to the next and the next. Without someone breaking that chain, it will stop at nothing until everyone is sick. That is why it is always a good idea to wash your hands before and after seeing sick people and eating. The other issue though, that much of the world has forgot, is that sickness isn't always a physical component as I just now proved. I can get ill just from being around certain situations. Let's say somebody has a bad attitude about something or I have one too. I can get sick from that too. That's why it's a good idea to keep your accounts short and your enemies shorter. It doesn't mean go out and get rid of other people and isolate yourself. Rather, what is inside of you does affect the outside. Therefore, while you're checking yourself for a physical condition, don't forget to make sure the spiritual one is also fine first. Then check the mental and the emotional one too. After that, and any fixable problems are handled, you should be good to seek some additional help.