Sweet or Unsweet?

Do you not see that whatever goes into the mouth passes into the stomach and is expelled? But what comes out of the mouth proceeds from the heart, and this defiles a person. For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false witness, slander. These are what defile a person. But to eat with unwashed hands does not defile anyone. (Matthew 15:17-20 ESV). “Tea”… you’d think I could come up with a slightly weightier subject today; however, as I began to sit down and write I was taken with how easily it is to take for granted one of the most consumed beverages in the world. So, I decided to do a little research. According to Wikipedia, tea is “an aromatic beverage commonly prepared by pouring hot or boiling water over cured leaves of the Camellia Sinensis, an evergreen shrub native to Asia. After water, it is the most widely consumed drink in the world. Some teas, like Darjeeling and Chinese greens, have a cooling, slightly bitter, and astringent flavor, while others have vastly different profiles that include sweet, nutty, floral, or grassy notes.” Further, I discovered there is quite an art to brewing tea properly. I found a chart that details the temperature and time to steep, ten different types of teas, whether they are to be served hot or cold. Personally, I don’t need to know how to brew it. I just want to be able to make the choice between sweet or unsweet. In Tennessee, that choice is usually predetermined. If you want unsweet tea, you’d better ask for it. Your server is going to bring you sweet tea every time. I like my tea sweet, so that suits me just fine. This thought brought me to Jesus’ teaching in today’s reading. The disciples had been to Jerusalem again with Jesus when the religious leaders confronted Him. Again they tried to trap Jesus by asking a nonsensical question. They wanted to know why the disciples ate without ceremonially washing their hands first. I won’t detail the first response of Jesus to them. Read the first verse again and use your imagination; it really is pretty graphic. Ultimately Jesus does go on to explain that the things we do to look religious really don’t matter much. It is a condition of the heart that determines how well we will do. If we have been born again, our hearts are right; and, therefore, everything is working toward the good of God’s purpose. It’s kind of like tea. I don’t care if it’s blooming tea, white tea, green tea, oolong tea, or any other mix of leaves; I want it poured over a full glass of ice and sweet! It’s not how I look on the outside; it’s how I believe on the inside that counts. How do you believe in relationship to the grace of God in your life?