My Thoughts on Leaven

Have you heard the latest attempt at being politically correct by one of our country’s universities? The words “God”and “Jesus” are being banned. One after the other, our freedoms are falling. God is being removed from schools, from greetings(No more “God bless you” in some places.) And certainly, God’s laws or the Ten Commandments must be removed from state property. Because, above all else, we must be politically correct. What is being politically correct? Who knows? We must listen to the news to find out.

There is a scientific principle that nature resists a vacuum. So, what is rushing in to fill the empty space being left by abolishing God? Just about anything else. Just so it is politically correct; that seems to be our new god.

Listen to an observation of Jesus, found in Mark 8:18, “Having eyes, see ye not? and having ears, hear ye not? and do ye not remember?”

Those are pertinent questions for today. Don’t we remember the truths upon which this country was founded? We were not founded on Islam. We were not founded upon the fear of hurting someone’s feelings. We were founded upon our belief in God and Jesus and the bedrock need for freedom to worship as we see  fit. What hardships our forefathers endured to escape a despotic king! Don’t we remember?

Before the Lord asked those questions in Mark 8:18, He issued a warning in a preceding verse: “Take heed; beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, and of the leaven of Herod.”

The Pharisees were the Jewish religious leaders. They put heavy burdens upon the people. They must follow laws and rules in order to be acceptable to God, the Pharisees said, while they themselves had hearts untouched by God’s love.

And Herod’s leaven? Well, Herod was a political ruler. His edicts were harsh with heavy laws, fines for disobeying, threats of death and fines and dungeons. At the root of all that was his fear of being toppled from power which, by the way, happened despite his precautions.

And leaven? Why does the Lord use that word? Leaven is yeast or an agent put into bread to cause it to rise. It spreads rather slowly throughout the dough. Sometimes its progress isn’t all that noticeable until, a few hours after starting, voila! A little leavening has caused the whole big lump of dough to rise and change appearances. Leaven works slowly but surely. That, I believe, is why we should beware.

Anyway, those are my thoughts this morning. I am not really old and decrepit yet; I haven’t lived nearly as long as some people but, boy! Have I seen our Nation change! It is as if we are turned inward against ourselves, bent on destroying the very ideas that have made us great. I wonder if we’ll recognize it before it is too late? I certainly pray so.

Mary Edna Latty’s New Testament