AUGUST 14, 1 Corinthians 5:7

“Those loaves look so little,” said Joelle as her mother formed the bread dough and placed it in pans to bake. “Shouldn’t you put more in the pans?” Mom laughed. “There’s yeast in the bread dough. That will make it rise,” she said as she set the loaves aside. “Come see them in about an hour.”

Joelle’s friend, Audrey, came over a little later, and after finishing their homework, the girls were going to relax in the hall. As Joelle walked down the hall, she saw a small bottle of perfume on her mother’s dresser. Perhaps we should have fun with some perfume, she thought. Just a teeny bit. She wasn’t supposed to touch Mom’s things, but she tiptoed quietly into the bedroom. She opened the bottle, and put a little perfume on her wrist. She shared it with Audrey, too.

“Come take a look at these loaves now, Joelle,” called Mom a little later. “They’re ready for the oven.” The girls went to the kitchen and saw that the loaves had risen higher than the top of the pans. Mom sniffed. “What do I smell?” she asked. “Did you use my perfume?”

“N-no,” Joelle stammered.

Just then her little sister, Hannah, came into the kitchen. “I smell good!” she exclaimed. She held a half-empty bottle, and she definitely did smell good! As Mom began to scold Hannah for using the perfume, tears filled the little girl’s eyes. “Joelle used it,” she said, “so I thought I could, too.”

Mom looked at Joelle. “I… I…” stuttered Joelle. “Well, I… we used such a tiny bit.”

Looking stern, Mom pointed to the loaves of bread. “The small amount of yeast in the bread dough made the loaves grow big,” she said. “Sin is much like yeast. Your sin of disobedience seemed small to you, but look what happened. It caused you to lie to me. It also spread to your little sister who was watching you and followed your example. It doesn’t seem so small anymore, does it?”

Joelle shook her head. “I-I’m sorry,” she murmured.

Mom nodded. “I hope that will help you remember there isn’t any such thing as a small sin. You need to get rid of any sin in your life.”

Thought: Did some wrong thing you were tempted to do seem very small?

Prayer: Heavenly Father, may I learn well today’s lesson that in the Bible, sin is compared to leaven, or yeast. It takes only a small amount of yeast to affect the dough, and even a so-called small sin affects my life. It needs to be cleaned out quickly. In Jesus’ holy name, amen.