When I was young, moms & aunties always inspected your hands before meals. “Did you wash your hands with soap?” Sometimes they added, “Did you wash behind your ears?” I never quite saw the connection between my ears & hands. After all, I don’t have food in my ears, although there was that time with a really big slice of watermelon…
Clean hands is a theme in scriptures, as well - “…those who have clean hands & a pure heart…” Here the concern is not for cleanliness before meals, but for righteous actions. The hands focus on the action while the heart focuses on intention. To come into God’s presence, both right action & right intention are necessary. Often our wrong actions proceed from wrong thoughts & motivations. We are blessed when we hunger & thirst for righteousness. For God, thought & action are always in accord. God’s thoughts are pure & therefore, His actions are righteous. At times, we may struggle to have a pure heart, so our actions may be unholy. The more we see the world through the lens of God’s grace (His love & mercy) the more our actions will be more like the Holy One. I know this is a high standard for all of us to strive for, but our aim should always exceed our grasp.
So we pray, “Lord, help me see the world through Your eyes, help me to think about my actions so that my thoughts may be like Your thoughts, help me to act like You act. May my hands be in Your service & my heart be pure towards You and others. May I have clean hands & a pure heart, that I may always be in Your presence.