Yeast

Matthew 16:6 "Watch and beware of the leaven (yeast) of the Pharisees and Sadducees."

We're surrounded by messages each and every day. Some research puts the number of messages Americans see in a day at between 400 and 4,000 (or more according to some sources). Most of them are advertising products or services - but embedded in those messages are values and philosophies.

If you drink this beer you will attract hot looking women (or men). If you buy this ring you will be loved, if you use this company you will be rich and secure, etc.

But messages also come at us in more subtle ways. Every magazine or newspaper article you read, every TV show or movie you watch, every class you attend, even every conversation you have with peers, subordinates or supervisors carry with it messages. How you process those can make a big difference in a life lived for God.

Jesus, in the above Scripture, is commenting on one form of message - the attitudes, actions, and pronouncements of the religious leaders of the day. The problem was that the leaders were more interested in keeping power and prestige to themselves and less interested in turning people to God. They looked great and holy but inside were not at all.

That teaching acts like yeast in the lives of people who hear it. Yeast is used to add texture to bread - carbon dioxide really - as a byproduct of digestion of sugar. The reason yeast works is that it spreads uniformly throughout the dough.

Ideas can do that to us as well. We hear a message with a particular philosophy. Unchallenged it can go into our mind and be incorporated into our own outlook. Without even knowing it - being subjected to certain philosophies and attitudes can actually change your thinking and believing patterns - working their way throughout your psyche.

So am I saying to walk around with blinders and ear plugs in so we receive no messages? No. What I am saying is to be aware. Jesus said "watch and beware." Don't just let worldly patterning into your mind without challenge. And watch for subtle changes in your thinking patterns that might signal that the world's yeast has begun to work.

And make sure that the good yeast - God's Word - also has a chance to spread and permeate your being.