Devotion
Beware the Leaven
Frances Taylor
Jesus must have been shaking his head at them, frustrated by their lack of understanding. He must feel the same about us too. What is the leaven of today that we need to avoid? Let's think about that for a minute. Who do you listen to? It's very difficult to avoid the leaven of the world. We are confronted daily with ads promising to make our life better if only we buy this, take that, behave in this way, avoid behaving that way.
When I was much younger, I used to watch the soap operas on television. The couples were married, went to church, would often invite the minister and his wife over for dessert after Sunday dinner. Only the "bad" girls would try to seduce the "good" men. Beds were single and only the "bad" girls were shown having sex, and everyone was fully clothed and no one cursed or used foul language. Action or crime shows left the violence to the imagination, and good always triumphed over evil.
Today, violence, sex nudity, crude language and ads promoting lust and greed abound. Beware the leaven of the world is a warning we need to pay attention to. We need to pay attention for our sake and also for the sake of our children. Do we want our youth corrupted by the moral values of the world? Do we want them to believe that violence is the answer to everything and that sex is only for pleasure and has no consequences, and crude language and racial or religious slurs are okay?
I know I don't want my children and grandchildren believing that this behavior is acceptable. My response is just not to watch such programs and make my reasons clear to others. I would rather read something worthwhile or chat with a friend. It is most important that we pay attention to what our children watch and discuss with them how these programs – or video games – violate the moral values of Christians. Beware the leaven!
Prayer
Lord, your warning to the disciples is one we need to heed today. Guide us through the maze of this world helping us to choose only that which is to your glory. Amen.
Night Prayer
Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye make clean the outside of the cup and of the platter, but within they are full of extortion and excess.
Inspiration
We despise the thought of a pile of dirty dishes in the sink. The outside is easy to clean; it's the caked-up residue on the inside that's so difficult to remove. Jesus compares the scribes and Pharisees with dishes that have been wiped clean on the outside while dirty inside. The Pharisees took exceptional care of their outward appearance and neglected their inward spirits. We are guilty of allowing our hearts to be left filthy as well. We look and act as we should while our souls are full of darkness. We must continue to converse with the Holy Spirit daily and trust His guidance to cleanse our sinful nature.
Prayer
Dear God, Please forgive our sinful nature. We yearn for cleansing from within, so we are genuine witnesses to Your name. In Jesus' Name, Amen.
