Beware of the Leaven of Religion and Politics
Two great dangers to human flourishing are the influence of religion and politics. To be fair, we must define what we mean when we say these two words, as in and of themselves, they are a natural part of the human community, but what they have become to most people is a problem. Our social media feeds and airwaves are full of these influences that often capture people in ways they do not realize. We must understand this leaven that slowly creeps into everything, therefore, we begin to become blind to Reality as we think only religiously or politically about everything in a way that only harms others and ourselves.
Simply put in the best sense, religion is a connection to God and politics is service to others.
Religion and politics, in the negative sense, work to influence people through deception, manipulation, distraction, fear, propaganda, and pride. God, in the best sense of God’s reality, naturally destroys these influences, while working directly within them from the inside out. This is why it takes a certain kind of eye to see and an ear to hear, as on the surface it can appear I might be saying the exact opposite of what you think I mean, especially when God shows up inside religion and politics to transform them. We must become familiar with what is on the actual inside of things, or else we are left polishing the outside of our cup, not cleaning the inside lens of perception that is contaminating whatever we think.
Jesus warned his friends about these influences:
He cautioned them, saying, “Watch out; beware of the leaven of the Pharisees (religion) and the leaven of Herod (politics).” - Mark 8:15
With politics, they don’t mind you believing in God, but just don’t bring God’s reality into how we run things.
With religion, it is all about God, but it is a form of godliness that denies God’s power and actual nature.
In a strange twist, some parts of politics HATE any talk of God, which shows how its corrupting leaven has grown. Or in religion, any talk of God (as they understand God) is quickly challenged with the powerlessness of words, scriptures, and apparent prophetic critique.
These two ways of thinking slowly bring the mind into bondage thinking itself to be interpreting reality rightly, yet loses the awareness of God’s reality. It often accepts things practically and rationally, over the miraculous nature of Divine Life. It exchanges faith for reason.
Jesus told his disciples to watch out for these influences after they had seen fish and bread miraculously multiply. They even knew how many baskets they originally had (rational) and how many were left over (practical). While there was significance in the numbers, they were being veiled by missing the foundation from which to think from, which had been replaced by focusing on literal things that created doubt.
Their calculated reasoning was forgetting the Measureless.
If you do not know the Measureless, you will get trapped by religion and politics consistently. You will live in a constant state of anxiety, skepticism, doubt, and dissatisfaction. You will thrive on telling people how they are wrong or just thinking how they are. You will judge them for voting a certain way or even praising a politician for the good they have done, or critiquing a politician for the bad. You will take sides in ways that refuse to listen to the other. You will gather religious teachers who only teach what you want to hear. You will gather political parties that only say what you want them to say.
But if you surrender to the Measureless, you begin to inherit all things. You grow in real discernment and the divine reasoning that can do more with less, and God miraculously begins to grow like leaven inside you until God is all in all.
Therefore, beware of the leaven of politics and religion, even if they claim to love God and their neighbor, and surrender to the Measureless where real Love is born.
-PH
