Does Your Heart Need a Shower?

I don't like to be dirty. One rainy Saturday about 1 1/2 years ago I fell while helping a friend move into his apartment. I tumbled down some concrete steps and into the very muddy, wet street. AND in the end I ended up in the emergency room with grit and grime all over me along with the scrapes and bruises. In short, I was a mess! I needed a shower and more!
HOWEVER that is only the start when it comes to a messy heart! Jesus said, It is what comes out of a that makes him unclean. For from within, out of men's hearts, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, greed, malice, deceit, lewdness, envy, slander, arrogance and folly. All these evils come from inside and make a man unclean. (Mark 7:15b-23, NIV)
Why do you think Jesus took the time to make this list? Perhaps there were folks in the crowd around Jesus whose hearts needed a good shower.
I have a good friend who lives in a power wheelchair. She broke her ankle not long ago. She needs practical help all the time but even more since she broke her ankle. One assistance she is receiving is an aide who comes to help her bathe.
A dirty heart requires the aid of the Holy Spirit to get to a clean heart! There is no other way!
It is easy to understand why Jesus listed the "big" sins but it is interesting that He lumped them in with what we think of as "small" sins. Just take "arrogance" as an example. Arrogance is defined as "an offensive display of superiority or self-importance, or overbearing pride."
The other "small" sins are equally "not pretty" - in fact, it is arguable that they are just as bad as the "big" sins!
How do we clean up: Arrogance? Envy? Greed? What does that look like?

• Cleaning up arrogance gives me a servant heart that displays selflessness.


• Cleaning up envy makes me content with the blessings of God in my life.


• Cleaning up greed plants a passionate quest for God and His righteousness in my heart where greed once reigned.

That sounds like the start of a "heart shower" to me! I want to live with a clean heart! That's a labor intensive process which ONLY God can accomplish. ONLY He can shine His light into the crevices of my heart to illuminate the darkness and clean me up from the inside out!