Dealing with the Political and the Religious Spirit
“As soon as Jesus landed, he was confronted by the Pharisees, who argued with Jesus and tested him. They demanded that he give them a miraculous sign from heaven. And with a deep sigh from his spirit, he said, “What drives this generation to clamor for a sign? Listen to the truth: there will absolutely be no sign given to this generation!” Then he turned and left them, got back into the boat, and crossed over to the opposite shore. Now, the disciples had forgotten to take bread with them, except for one loaf of flatbread. And as they were sailing across the lake, Jesus repeatedly warned them, “Be on your guard against the yeast inside of the Pharisees and the yeast inside of Herod!””
The Religious Spirit
A religious spirit is very much an us and them culture, and the we, the us - we are doing it right. The them are doing it wrong - they are not keeping the rules.
This means we judge ourselves by our intentions, but we judge others by their actions. So we spiritualize our own dysfunction rather than dealing with our own brokenness.
You need to beware of this - be on your guard for this as Jesus reminds us.
The Political Spirit
A political spirit always needs an enemy. It is more concerned with winning than solving a problem, and it demonizes anyone that doesn’t agree with them.
It reduces us to partisan opinions rather than wisdom. It creates a culture where we don’t have permission to make decisions - it’s a decision by association. I am part of this group, therefore I must think this way.
The villain in the story cannot ever do anything right, regardless of what they actually do do.
As the church we need to be careful to not allow the politics to influence us.
“Then how is it that you still don’t get it?”
The disciples misunderstand - there not being a sign, didn’t mean that there wouldn’t be any food. In other words, Jesus meets you at your point of need. He always has done.
What is it you need God to do?
What is the one loaf that you can bring to God?
Grab a pen and paper - and write at the top what you need God to do. At the bottom of the page - write out all of the occasions that God has done something amazing for you. This will encourage you as you remember that God can do it, that He has done it and that He will do it.