Bad Information

This passage comes from Matthew 16.

"When they went across the lake, the disciples forgot to take bread.  "Be careful," Jesus said to them.  "Be on your guard against the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees." Matt 16: 5-6.

Of note, the Pharisees and Sadducees were considered to be the "smart people" of their day.

They were the "intelligentsia," the wise ones, the providers of wisdom and knowledge to the masses who didn't have their superior knowledge and intellect.

At first the disciples don't get Jesus' meaning.  "It is because we didn't bring any bread." Matt 16: 7

Jesus explains.  "How is it you don't understand that I was not talking to you about bread?  But be on your guard against the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees."  Then they understood that he was not telling them to guard against the yeast used in bread, but against the teaching of the Pharisees and Sadducees."  Matt 16:  11-12.

Bad information.  False information.  Do we deal with that today?  You bet we do!  It comes at us from all sides.  The age of the internet and social media have only compounded the problem.  We get so much bad and false information dumped on us on a regular basis that we wonder,  "What can I believe?  What is true?"

Where can we find any truth today?  Where can we find information that is reliable?  In our Bibles.

"Yes," you say, "but that stuff was written more than 2000 years ago.  How can it be relevant to me today?"

Truth doesn't change.  It is an absolute.  It is a constant.

"Ok," you say, "but it is difficult to read and it has been translated from ancient languages and sometimes it is just hard to make any sense of it."

All true.  But it is surprising how, with just a little consistent effort on our part, the difficult things become easier.  The obscure becomes understandable.  Modern Bibles like an NIV (New International Version), or ESV (English Standard Version), or NAB (New American Bible) are often accompanied with added information to help us understand the Biblical text.  In addition, they are often cross-referenced to other parts of the Bible that allow us to see how truth, in fact, really does not change over time.  The information that God is giving us in His word, is consistent and reliable.

All we have to do is read it.  Regularly.  In small doses.  And we will get it.  It's not hard.  

And we will know the truth.  And knowing the truth in our lives is what we are all looking for.