What’s in Your Refrigerator?
Maybe you have a phrase at your house like we do which describes one of those chores that no one looks forward to, but that is periodically necessary: “clean out the refrigerator”. At the Phillips house, it means going through all the stuff that is in the fridge, and getting rid of the too-old-to-eat leftovers, expired milk and near empty salad dressing bottles. Maybe there’s even a jar or two of pickle juice with three or four lonely pickle slices lounging in them, that no one seems to ever want to eat. Anyway, you get the picture. It’s a task that usually doesn’t get done often enough, easily put off, until finally somebody gets grossed out and decides enough is enough, and takes action.
Friday evening, with the long-anticipated restoration of electricity after Wednesday night’s storm, necessity became the overruling factor, and the interior of the refrigerator was restored to a condition it had not experienced since it was brand new. Totally clean and empty. I won’t go into a detailed accounting of all the items that were lurking therein, but suffice it to say, it was a job long overdue that we were forced into by the lack of a standby emergency power source. As we loaded up four heavy garbage bags of formerly edible foodstuffs and condiments for disposal, it occurred to me that my heart may be a lot like that refrigerator was. And that thought is more than a little uncomfortable.
Mark 7 records a conversation between Jesus and the Pharisees, that had been prompted by the sight of Jesus’ disciples eating without ceremonially washing their hands. Knowing that the Pharisees were not concerned with sanitation, but rather ceremony, Jesus quoted Isaiah 29:13, emphasizing the fact that the condition of their hearts had caused them to ignore and even defy the commands of God, substituting traditions in their place. Following that conversation with the Pharisees, Jesus reminded the people and then later His disciples that food going into the stomach doesn’t spiritually defile a person, but rather words and deeds coming out of the heart. From within, out of the heart of man, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, coveting, wickedness, deceit, sensuality, evil, slander, pride, foolishness. All these evil things come from with in, and they defile a person (Mk. 7:21-23). The wise man of Proverbs 4:23 said, Keep your heart with all vigilance, for from it flow the springs of life. Again, in Proverbs 27:19, the heart’s importance is emphasized: As in water, face reflects face, so the heart of man reflects the man.
So the question is not only, “What’s in your heart?” but also, how long has it been since you gave it a good cleaning? Very much like my refrigerator building up an accumulation of condiments and leftovers reflective of a busy lifestyle, our hearts can harbor unsavory elements that are the products of shallow thinking, upside down priorities, and temporal distractions. Check them regularly (2 Cor. 13:5); cleanse them frequently.
Peter reminds us that of all places, the heart of a child of God is where Jesus should reign as Supreme Lord: But sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts, always being ready to make a defense to everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in you, yet with gentleness and reverence; (1 Peter 3:15).