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For much of my life, people have been concerned about the environment. I remember news stories about environmental disasters, such as Love Canal, New York, and Times Beach, Missouri and Bhopal, India. Pollution made the areas unlivable. I also remember the Exxon Valdez oil tanker that spilled millions of gallons of crude oil into Prince William Sound.
What about you? Do you remember when a certain over-the-counter medication was poisoned? I’m sure you are aware of all the food recalls because of e. coli or some other bacteria contamination. A few years ago, you couldn’t go to a restaurant and order a salad because all the lettuce was contaminated!
Purity is critically important in many things! The government has spent billions of dollars cleaning up toxic waste. Companies have spent millions of dollars recalling contaminated food and products. Companies spend a lot of time and money on quality processes to ensure the purity of food and medication. In fact, government regulation requires these efforts.
One other area where purity is vitally important is religion. As James 1:27 says, “Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.” (NIV)
Is this a practical description of the Beatitude about being pure in heart? It seems to fit. We should be generous to the needy and avoid the moral pollution of this world.
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Bumper music “Landing Place” performed by Mark July, used under license from Shutterstock.