Jesus said to them, “Isaiah prophesied rightly about you… ‘This people honors me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me.’” (Mark 7:6)
If you look up the word integrity in a dictionary, or more likely Google, it will say something about honesty and living a moral life. It will also say something like, “the state of being whole or undivided.” To live a life of integrity means to live whole and undivided. I have often thought that is what Jesus is getting at in this passage from Mark.
Jesus is challenging the Pharisees who seem more concerned with keeping the letter of the law than having compassion for those who may be struggling with illness, or hunger, or even keeping straight all the letters of the law! Knowing the law says to love your neighbor isn’t enough. You also need to love your neighbor. Saying, “I love you,” while treating your neighbor with contempt is NOT living with integrity.
Children are very good at calling attention to our divided selves. We may teach them to not swear, or that fighting is wrong, or you shouldn’t talk about someone behind their back, but they will mimic our behavior no matter what we say. They are like looking into little mirrors of ourselves.
With or without children around to keep us honest, we need to work on living whole and undivided lives. Our deeds need to match our words. Let us honor God with our lips AND with our actions.
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