Is there leaven in our lives?

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TODAY'S SPECIAL: Mark 7-8; Psalm 98

TO CHEW ON: "Then He charged them, saying, 'Take heed, beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the leaven of Herod.' " Mark 8:15

In a conversation that makes us smile because of its misunderstandings, Jesus warned the disciples about the leaven of the Pharisees and of Herod. The disciples thought He was talking about real bread—seen by their discussion amongst themselves (Mark 8:16).

But that wasn't it at all. What Jesus was really referring to is leaven as a metaphor. "Often the term has an evil connotation, that is, what is small may corrupt the whole," says J. Lyle Story in his notes on Mark (New Spirit-Filled Life Bible, p. 1364).

The leaven, or evil Jesus tells them to avoid here is that of the Pharisees and Herod. My Bible's notes suggest the leaven of the Pharisees is lack of faith so that ever more signs are needed, and the leaven of Herod is the worldly outlook of godlessness.

The meaning of leaven as a small thing that disseminates through the whole batch is borne out in other references to leaven. In 1 Corinthians Paul said, "Do you not know that a little leaven leavens the whole lump?" Then he told the Corinthians to purge out the leaven of "malice and wickedness" - 1 Corinthians 5:6-8.

In Galatians Paul repeated the leaven proverb (Galatians 2:9) and warned readers about the leaven of returning to the bondage of the law (practicing and insisting on circumcision) as a way to earn salvation - Galatians 2:2-12.

These references to leaven as a small, seemingly insignificant thing that can corrupt the whole has me asking, might there be leaven in my life?

It could be some secret and unconfessed sin that saps my spiritual energy by its whispers: "You sinner! You have no right to spiritual power and success." Or it could be an attitude like the fear of man, or a lack of faith that the Bible is really truth, or pride that says, "I would never do that" and then sits in judgment on others. It could be any number of things—bits of leaven that eventually affect every part of life and ministry.

PRAYER: Dear God, please help me to discern the leaven in my life and, with the help of Your spirit, rid myself of it. Amen. 

PSALM TO PRAY: Psalm 98

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Unless otherwise noted all Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

"Let us build"

TODAY'S SPECIAL:  Genesis 8-11

TO CHEW ON: "And they said, 'Come, let us build ourselves a city and a tower whose top is in the heavens, let us make a name for ourselves, lest we be scattered abroad over the face of the whole earth.'" Genesis 11:4

On April 15, 2010  the Eyjafjallajokull volcano in Iceland began spewing its magma and ash clouds in earnest.  It took only a day until thousands of flights in Europe and America were grounded.

The ability of such a relatively small and commonplace natural event to impact the lives of millions of people on earth illustrates how fragile our life on planet Earth is and how out of human control. The systems which are the very foundations of our civilization are vulnerable. We've seen this before. Events like 9-11, computer viruses, physical plagues and pandemics, natural disasters like earthquakes, hurricanes and tornadoes bring proud human societies to their knees.

Humanism, a thought system that looks to and depends on  human wisdom for the answer to all of life's questions, is attractive to our proud, independent, ambitious human spirits. The seeds of this worldview were planted by Satan in Eden (Genesis 3:5). It was flowering nicely at the time of Babel (our reading today)and continues to proliferate till our time.  Dreams of reaching heaven by a building then have morphed into continuing attempts to defeat gravity, illness, even death. And human discoveries have led to innovations which benefit us all, impacting how we travel, communicate, and the length and comfort of our lives.  But despite all that, we humans are still not in control. God is.

He works in the lives of individuals  (Proverbs 16:9) and rulers (Proverbs 21:1). He can frustrate the plans of the wisest  (Isaiah 44:25) and control the destiny of nations (Jeremiah 18:7) He can punish oppressors and mete out justice (Isaiah 49:26). Nature is in His power (Job 26:5-14).

In view  of this, we may be tempted to take the opposite approach from the humanist and become passive, saying, What does it matter what I do? It's all controlled by God anyway.

Two scriptures come to mind. (Clicking on the linked words, below, takes you to the verse in four different translations.)

• Jesus told a story (Luke 19:12-26) of a man who lived passively . His master scolded and punished him when he found the man had done nothing with the money he had been given. It shows us that we will be held responsible for how we steward our talents and opportunities.

• James speaks about making plans (James 4:13-17). The upshot of his advice is - make plans but view them with realism and humility.    

PRAYER: Dear God, You have all power and might over nature and people. Help me to live realistically before You today, stewarding everything You have given me and acknowledging You as the source of it all. Amen.

PSALM TO PRAY - Psalm 3

The Bible Project  VIDEO: Genesis 1-11 (Torah Series)



 
MORE: What do humanists believe?
The Humanist Manifestos are documents which outline the basic tenets of humanism.

Here is the original "Humanist Manifesto i," dated 1933. Its handling of religion and what religion means to the humanist is particularly interesting.

The most recent version, Humanist Manifesto iii, was revised in  2003.

What strikes me about the ideas in them is how familiar they are! Isn't this the worldview of science, education, and the media?

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Unless otherwise noted all Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.