leading indicators

I think often I’m like the Jews in Jesus’ time: I have such deeply embedded human notions of what Jesus must want that I have trouble understanding what he actually says.

In Matthew 15 I read of a time when Jesus taught parable that had a simple point. It’s not what you eat that makes you unclean, Jesus said. It’s what you say. The Jews, faithful followers of an encyclopedia of rules for the purity required to enter the temple, couldn’t believe it. There were all kinds of restrictions related to food. Even Jesus’ disciples didn’t get it. Look at verses 15-20: 

“Peter said, ‘Explain the parable to us.’

“‘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 person’s mouth come from the heart, and these defile them. For out of the heart come evil thoughts—murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander. These are what defile a person; but eating with unwashed hands does not defile them.’”

To the extent we have wickedness in our hearts, we do wicked things with our mouths. Our jealousy becomes slander and back-biting. Our anger becomes lies and hateful innuendo. Our lusts are expressed in dirty jokes and inappropriate comments. In fact, it’s really hard to mask our evil thoughts because our motor mouths eventually betray us.

In business we talk about something called a leading indicator - it’s the first thing you’re likely to notice when your process isn’t functioning correctly. I gather from Jesus’ teaching here that what I say is a leading indicator of my spiritual health. My words will let me know if my heart isn’t right.

Kind, generous, encouraging words are evidence of the fruits of the spirit. Snark, gossip and story-telling point to something unhealthy in my heart. What I say is the most obvious kind of leading indicator. And decades in business have taught me to watch leading indicators pretty carefully.