In Matthew, chapter 15, Jesus said to a crowd: Listen and understand. What goes into a man's mouth does not make him "unclean," but what comes out of his mouth, that is what makes him "unclean."
The Pharisees, Jesus' self-righteous enemies, considered a person unclean or unacceptable to God by failing to keep their regulations and traditions. The Pharisees rule book far exceeded the commands of God. For example, the Pharisees had very specific regulations about when and how a person should wash their hands. But the people were expected to know and to keep every little rule.
The disciples didn't quite get what Jesus meant and asked him to explain His little parable. Here's verses 16-20: Are you still so dull? Jesus asked them. Don't you see that whatever enters the mouth goes into the stomach and then out of the body? But the things that come out of a mouth come from the heart and these make a man "unclean." For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander. These are what make a man "unclean;" but eating with unwashed hands does not make him "unclean."
Jesus does something very revealing here. He described the defilement of a person in much different terms than the Pharisees. The Lord teaches that defilement comes from an impure hearts. What seperates a person from God is not what they eat but by their sinful and unrepentant ways.
So if you really want to know what a person is made of just listen to what they say and write. Do their words defend or accuse? Do their words lift up or tear down. Do their words frame a person's actions in the best and kindest way or is their goal to hurt and ruin a reputation. Oh, we all need to repent for things we've said and done that failed to keep God's command. Have mercy on us, O Lord! Still, if you really want to know what is in a person's heart, then do as Jesus advises - hear what comes out of their mouth.
