Matthew 16:6
“Watch out!” Jesus warned them. “Beware of the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees.”
When I was a teenager, my mother baked frozen yeast rolls that everyone loved, including a neighbor who was new to the country. Wanting to try them, she bought a few packs but stored them in her kitchen cabinet. By the next day the thawed dough had risen and filled the whole cabinet. That is the power of yeast. It spreads into everything around it.
Yeast in bread is not the only thing that spreads. In today’s passage Jesus warns us that unless we are careful the attitudes and actions of the people and culture around us can work their way into our own hearts.
This is such a powerful principle that it even affected the Apostle Peter. In Galatians 2, the apostle Peter was pulled into hypocrisy simply because he was afraid of the pressure from certain Jews who came from Jerusalem. The text says that the rest of the Jews joined in and even Barnabas was carried away. That is the power of atmosphere. The wrong crowd can turn courage into cowardice.
Paul also warned of this, “Do not be deceived. Bad company corrupts good morals.” (First Corinthians 15:33). In modern times one speaker said: “You are the average of the five people you spend the most time with.”
We still need that warning from Jesus. Watch out. Beware of the influence of the people and culture around you.
I’m Lonnie Davis, and these are thoughts worth thinking.
Wow! This is powerful! Thank you.