Mark 2:23-28
23 One Sabbath he was going through the grainfields, and as they made their way, his disciples began to pluck heads of grain. 24 And the Pharisees were saying to him, “Look, why are they doing what is not lawful on the Sabbath?” 25 And he said to them, “Have you never read what David did, when he was in need and was hungry, he and those who were with him: 26 how he entered the house of God, in the time of Abiathar the high priest, and ate the bread of the Presence, which it is not lawful for any but the priests to eat, and also gave it to those who were with him?” 27 And he said to them, “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath. 28 So the Son of Man is lord even of the Sabbath.”
In this exchange between Jesus and the Pharisees, Jesus corrects their misunderstanding with the statement that "the Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath" (verse 27). I think you could make a similar statement that "purity was made for man, not man for purity". This doesn't mean that we're in charge and can do whatever we want in regards to purity. Rather, it means that purity is not some arbitrary rule created by God to test us, but instead purity was God's design to benefit man. This affects our heart attitude about purity. If we view it as some external, arbitrary rule, then we'll be tempted to resent the boundaries, and to think we're okay as long as we don't obviously cross them (e.g. "we didn't go all the way, so it's okay"). This is how the Pharisees treated the Sabbath. In contrast, if we see purity as something that benefits us, then we'll be seeking to be pure, versus seeking to not get caught. We'll also be less distracted by tangential issues like dancing, and more focused on heart attitudes like objectifying others.
Dear God, thank you for Your wonderful gift of purity.
23 One Sabbath he was going through the grainfields, and as they made their way, his disciples began to pluck heads of grain. 24 And the Pharisees were saying to him, “Look, why are they doing what is not lawful on the Sabbath?” 25 And he said to them, “Have you never read what David did, when he was in need and was hungry, he and those who were with him: 26 how he entered the house of God, in the time of Abiathar the high priest, and ate the bread of the Presence, which it is not lawful for any but the priests to eat, and also gave it to those who were with him?” 27 And he said to them, “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath. 28 So the Son of Man is lord even of the Sabbath.”
In this exchange between Jesus and the Pharisees, Jesus corrects their misunderstanding with the statement that "the Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath" (verse 27). I think you could make a similar statement that "purity was made for man, not man for purity". This doesn't mean that we're in charge and can do whatever we want in regards to purity. Rather, it means that purity is not some arbitrary rule created by God to test us, but instead purity was God's design to benefit man. This affects our heart attitude about purity. If we view it as some external, arbitrary rule, then we'll be tempted to resent the boundaries, and to think we're okay as long as we don't obviously cross them (e.g. "we didn't go all the way, so it's okay"). This is how the Pharisees treated the Sabbath. In contrast, if we see purity as something that benefits us, then we'll be seeking to be pure, versus seeking to not get caught. We'll also be less distracted by tangential issues like dancing, and more focused on heart attitudes like objectifying others.
Dear God, thank you for Your wonderful gift of purity.