A Little Leaven Suffer Well
A Little Leaven
(#021 from Suffer Well Devotional Series©)
www.sufferwell.org
Your glorying is not good. Do you not know that a little leaven leavens the whole lump? Therefore purge out the old leaven, that you may be a new lump, since you truly are unleavened. For indeed the Messiah, our Passover, was sacrificed for us. (1. Corinthians 5:6-7)
A Little Leaven…
Mom and dad fight and use angry words
The Lump
The children hear the fight and fear enters their hearts.
The fear turns to anger and then bitterness.
The children act out with rude behaviors toward friends.
Friends feel unloved and insecurity enters their hearts.
Friends tell their parents how they were treated badly.
They don’t want to play together anymore.
Even the friend’s parents build unhealthy mindsets towards the children.
Offenses destroy friendships!
The Lump
Mom shows impatience with store clerk due to anger at dad.
Store clerk gets upset, as she is tired of being treated badly by customers.
Store clerk yells at mom in frustration.
Boss hears of the account and fires store clerk on the spot.
Store clerk was a single mom who can no longer support her family.
She develops unhealthy fear, self-condemnation, and regret.
Fear destroys future opportunity!
The Lump
Dad neglects to show up at a vital business meeting due to frustration with mom.
Dad’s business partner takes over the meeting in a pinch.
The business partner is not prepared for meeting and loses a big account.
The partner becomes angry and bitter because the dad missed the key meeting.
The dad becomes angry and bitter because the partner is ill-prepared.
They have a huge blowout.
The future of the company and income for partners and all employees are in jeopardy.
Bitterness destroys lives and futures!
…leavens the whole lump!
It only takes a little leaven to leaven the whole lump (Galatians 5:9). That is a very dangerous thing if you use the leaven of the Pharisees: bad doctrine (Matthew 16:11), and hypocrisy (Luke 12:1). Therefore, purge out that old leaven. Instead of the leaven of the Pharisees, sprinkle the “leaven of the Kingdom” on your lump (Matthew 13:33). The Kingdom is righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit (Romans 14:17). Kingdom leaven will restore and preserve friendships; it will eliminate all doubt and fear; and it will neutralize bitterness with the sweet Fruit of the Spirit. Purge out that old leaven and hope is restored!