"Do you not see that whatever goes into a person from outside cannot defile him, since it enters not his heart but his stomach, and is expelled?" (Thus he declared all foods clean.) And he said, "What comes out of a person is what defiles him. For from within, out of the heart of man, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, coveting, wickedness, deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride, foolishness. All these evil things come from within, and they defile a person."
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Apparently, the only appropriate way to rebuke religious hypocrisy is to resort to potty language. At least, this is the case in Mark 7 as Jesus responds to the Pharisees' insistence upon ceremonial hand washings. When confronted with strict rules for external rituals, Jesus counters with his own well-aimed rebuke: You Pharisees bend and break the commandments of God for the sake of your man-made traditions. Don't you know that what comes out of your sinful heart and mind is far worse than mere food which is eaten and expelled?
Much could be said about how religious people today are continuing this Pharasaic legacy of restricted pietism (making a short list of extrabiblical rules that will supposedly gain the special favor of God). There are preachers and congregations who rail against cultural trends and lifestyles, and yet conveniently overlook their own gluttony, laziness, or private marital problems. There are average folks who thumb their noses at certain classes of people, or discount certain forms of art because of its rating or reputation. And there are even non-religious pietists as well, who rail against what they see as religious "bigotry" or traditional definitions of family and society.
So, how do we know if our convictions are more like the Pharisees or like Jesus himself? The answer from the immediate context is that we should hold tightly to the clear commands of Scripture and be willing to quickly let go of our extrabiblical religious habits when they contradict with Scripture (9:9-13). This is especially the case when our extra rituals are culturally irrelevant or even detrimental to ourselves and others (cf. Romans 14 & 1 Cor. 9). Another answer from the broader context of the Gospels is to first point the finger at yourself, long before you consider pointing out someone else's weakness or sin (Matt. 7:1-5; note: this passage is often misused to argue that ALL judging is forbidden by God, when in reality it merely forbids "judgmentalism" as an attitude of thoughtless self-righteousness).
An example in my own life may prove to be an appropriate conclusion.
One night, many months ago, I had the opportunity to sit down with my mother-in-law and share this very passage (Mark 7) with her, in an attempt to explain some of my beliefs. I have witnessed in her life the paralyzing effects of restricted pietism. Her disciplined habits of prayer, Bible-reading, and healthy diet are truly remarkable, but in and of themselves, they are hollow forms which provide little substance (see Col. 2:16ff). As I sat with her for over two hours, while Donna and Gracie slept, I sought desperately to show her, as humbly as I possibly could, that her ascetic lifestyle was in fact enslaving her and emaciating her - a result that runs completely counter to the glory and goodness of God, in whose image every person has been created. However, she looked directly at verses like Mark 7:19 (thus he declared all foods clean) and quite simply refused to accept it. She said, No.
I pray that someday she sees how trivial and petty her vision of God appears to be. The One who paints the sunsets each day and formed every human heart to beat and to long for meaning, it is He who created her to be free from the bonds of pietism which keep her depending upon rituals rather than a dynamic relationship with the Living God. Lord, have mercy on each of us as we continue to fight this fight for freedom, through the One who covers us completely in His righteousness. Amen.
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