How Ritual Can Replace Righteousness
Welcome back. If you’ve been reading along since January 1st, we are now 282 days into this year. By now, you’ve likely cultivated a solid habit of spending time with God daily. I hope you’re feeling closer to Him. My writing aims to keep you engaged and help you reflect on what you read. My prayer is that they never replace your time in the Word.
Today’s reading covers Mark chapters 7 through 9. One theme that stood out to me was how we often substitute ritual for righteousness.
Jesus and his followers displeased the Pharisees by ignoring the handwashing traditions (Mark 7:1-5). These practices made sense in their context—intestinal diseases were rampant. In fact, researchers confirmed the presence of Giardia duodenalis, a serious intestinal parasite, in Iron Age Jerusalem latrines dating back to the 7th–6th centuries BCE. This discovery provides the earliest known biological evidence of giardiasis in the region (1).
Jesus wasn’t discouraging sanitary practices. I’ve always been fanatical—almost obsessive—about washing my hands. Being in a wheelchair, I’ve developed a method: I unfold two paper towels on my lap, wash my hands, and dry them on the towels. My tires roll through who knows what, and I touch them constantly. Clean hands matter.
But Jesus’s point was deeper: what defiles us comes from within (v 7:21-23). I hate to admit that when I get mad, unflattering language can spill out. It’s a good thing I work more with artificial intelligence than humans these days. The software code I write will break, and I’ve dropped F-bombs on my AI tools. They don’t care; they’re just code. But it reveals what’s inside me, and that’s more frustrating than the broken code.
GIGO vs. BIBO: What Are You Feeding Your Soul?
So how do we counter this? There’s only one way: limit what we put in. In programming, we say, “Garbage in, garbage out” (GIGO). If your output isn’t what you want, you must examine your inputs. Machines only do what they’re told.
Spiritual growth works the same way. Instead of GIGO, it’s BIBO—Bible in, Bible out. When I’m stressed about finances, I could worry, panic, or compromise my principles. I’ve done all of that. But now, walking closer with Jesus, the Holy Spirit brings Scripture to mind—like today’s verse:
“What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul?” (Mark 8:36, NIV)
Instead of reacting, I remember the lesson of the loaves:
“The people ate and were satisfied. Afterward the disciples picked up seven basketfuls of broken pieces that were left over.” (Mark 8:8, NIV)
Seven represents completeness. Jesus suffices to meet all our needs according to His riches (Phil 4:19).
Jesus In, Jesus Out
The closer I walk with Jesus, the more I see Jesus in, Jesus out (JIJO). This is my desire: that when people see me—not the outward mess—but how I cope, handle, and serve, they see Christ in me. Better still, Christ through me.
Therefore, Jesus called out the hypocrisy of the Pharisees (v 7:6-8). Their hands may have been clean, but their hearts, as Isaiah said, were far from God.
When my life is over, people will remember me however they knew me. Some will say, “That dude was crazy.” Others might say I was smart, hardworking, or handicapped. I don’t worry about their perceptions. My prayer is that those who truly knew me would say I was a man who loved the Lord. Or better yet, they won’t remember me at all—but vividly recall something I taught them about Jesus.
That would mean I had lived a clean life.
Tomorrow, we will read Mark 10-11.
Footnotes
Freda Kreier, “Oldest Traces of a Dysentery-Causing Parasite Were Found in Ancient Toilets,” Science News, May 25, 2023, https://www.sciencenews.org/article/oldest-dysentery-giardia-parasite-toilet.