Father, when I sit down with You, I often feel that I say the same thing over and over again. But then I think, do I ever tire of my son telling me he loves me? And I know that You don’t mind at all! I love You, Lord!
Luke 12:1 (<<click to read the passage)
It’s alive!
No, I’m not writing about Dr. Henry Frankenstein’s historic line from the 1931 film, Frankenstein, when his “creation” comes to life. Instead, my goal is to make you aware of something that truly is alive! I’m talking about yeast.
Maybe I knew this in the past, but I had forgotten that yeast is actually a microscopic fungus, so it truly is a living organism. So, I am not stretching truth whatsoever in proclaiming, “IT’S ALIVE!”
Now in daily life it really isn’t scary – think of those scrumptious rolls at Texas Roadhouse! – but in this passage, Jesus equates yeast (or leaven) with hypocrisy!
The New Testament seems to combine the Old Testament concept of the godless rebel and the Attic Greek, hypocrite. That term meant “stage-playing or acting.” Jesus’s warning had everything to do with godless rebels, as they were, putting on a religious performance to impress men. Hypocrites made outward shows of religion, whether in giving monetary donations, praying, or fasting, but had no real relationship with God Himself.
Yeast and hypocrisy go hand-in-hand. The organisms that make up yeast, as I said, are microscopic – you can’t look at a batch of rising dough and see them at work. You see the results of their efforts but that’s after they have already done their deed!
Hypocrisy works much the same way. It begins in a very subtle manner, but it quickly increases and spreads itself. Jesus warned His disciples, and us, that it infects and corrupts our principles and practices. Much like yeast in a batch of bread dough, hypocrisy puffs and swells us up with a vain opinion of ourselves. Jesus’ goal was to warn his disciples of falling into hypocrisy themselves, but He also wanted to shore them up, so they would not be overwhelmed or intimidated by the double lives of the teachers of the Law.
Lord Jesus, many of us love a good yeasty slice of bread but we must all be wary of the ways hypocrisy can work its way into our lives. Help us to be on our guard so as not to allow it to develop in our lives. But…may we be alert to the fact that it just might be working in the lives of others around us, infecting their hearts and minds in opposition to the truth.
July 6th, 2020, Mon, 7:51 pm
