“A little yeast works through the whole batch of dough.” Galatians 5:9

Have you ever had a bad thought? I know, I know… who hasn’t? I have noticed how one bad thought can turn into hundreds and ruin my entire day. How do we make it stop? Do you know you have a choice over your thoughts? About what you are thinking, and how to change the negative ones into something positive? Do you know this is where our power lies? Thoughts are like yeast, and one can go a long way!

Growing up, no one ever told me I had control over my thoughts. It was when I was a teenager that I got my first of many lessons on making sure that I think good thoughts. That one came from my pastor. He was also really big on making sure that we guard what we say, especially the negative things we naturally say about ourselves. You know when you might say, I’m so stupid, or I’m so fat, or I’m so ugly. Those are the things my pastor would teach us to avoid, with a quick lesson on how words are powerful. Likewise, our thoughts are even more powerful than our words.

READ MORE: Persuasion versus perversion

In Galatians 5:9, Paul is talking about something more spiritual. You remember the earlier verse about how perversions can infect us? Many times we say to ourselves; that’s just a small lie, or it’s just a movie. Or even better, you’re not going to be drunk with just one bottle. It’s just a little sleepover, what’s the big deal? Or maybe it’s regarding your self esteem. And you might say something like this, I didn’t actually mean I am stupid, it’s something I just say. These very small, and seemingly insignificant behaviours or thoughts are the very things that transforms us, little by little. One bottle turn out to be really delicious, and so another one won’t harm. Or will it?

You see, like our thoughts, yeast isn’t a bad thing. Its purpose is to make dough rise, so we can have bread, and it is the most important ingredient. But, you ONLY need a little. Too much, and you destroy the batch. I am no baker, and I have never made bread. But, I think about yeast the same way I think about salt. Salt is the necessary ingredient to make the food savoury, but have you had fries that are too salty? It just overpowers everything, and now you no longer care to eat it. Yeast is probably like that in bread. Except that it’s visibly evident in that it causes the bread to go flat instead of rising.

I would say that’s what happens when you have too many bad thoughts. It pollutes the entire mind. As per 2 Corinthians 10:5, “….we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.” This is the power that we have inside of us: To take control of our thoughts. Have you heard the phrase, we are not our thoughts? We have to make the decision to think good thoughts even when we see the negative thoughts passing through. Again, I am saying, we have control over our thoughts. And let me add here, of our feelings too. Often, we get overpowered by our thoughts and feelings especially when it comes to love, pain, or grief. Even in those moments, it is not for us to believe all our thoughts. Next time, try surrendering the painful thoughts and feelings to God, and trust Him to replace them with His peace.

Remember this, each time we think negative thoughts or condemning thoughts, we are putting our flesh above God. In Genesis 3:11 God asks Adam and Eve, “Who told you that you were naked?…” Do not say something about yourself that God did not say about you. Rather, seek God, and let him transform you with His thoughts. We already know that God thinks good thoughts about us, so let him work those same thoughts inside of us. Do not allow “yeast” to come in and destroy what God has already worked inside of us.