That’ll Preach – Key Verses – Galatians (NIV)
That’ll Preach – Key Verses – Galatians (NIV)
5:9 “A little yeast works through the whole batch of dough.”
Such a powerful word picture. That a little "bad" can infect so much. It’s true in so many cases. Sadly, in life, something bad tends to ruin good things versus the other way around.
Even in cases where you have something bad in a substance (e.g., water) and you add tons more water to dilute it, you still didn’t change the bad stuff. You just weakened its potency.
Of course the solution is to not let the little amount (or any amount) of the "bad" into the good in the first place. Easier said than done, right? Usually once it’s identified as bad it’s too late. Of course, it’s better to identify it at some point than never at all.
This verse isn’t about how to fix the problem. It’s a picture of the danger of complacency and tolerance of wrong. When you allow "leaven" into the lump, you should know the outcome.
I think a modern version of this might be the idea of a "slippery slope." You allow a little in and the rate of entrance increases without the ability to slow it down. Another picture of this is the boiling frog theory. Little changes overtime will be allowed and tolerated until it’s too late.
So what do we do? Ideally we identify "leaven" as such before it’s introduced. If that doesn’t happen and it’s allowed in, we have to cut that part out. How? I guess it depends on the type of lump we’re talking about. Can you deleaven a lump?
I guess if you’re talking about habits, you have to eliminate that habit. Same for thoughts, perspective, beliefs, etc. Very tough both to identify and eradicate.
I’m showing my cards here in that I want to solve the problem. That’s not the point of this verse and to move on to fixing the lump is not part of the analogy. So the warning here is to be on guard. Know the signs and markings of leaven. Avoid it and prevent it from entering the lump. Do not tolerate leaven. That’ll preach.