Short Term Thinking Will Keep Me from Seeing Clearly

In review of Mark 8:17 it says, "Knowing what they were talking about, Jesus asked them, ‘Why are you talking about not having bread? Do you still not see or understand? Are your minds closed?’”

Bottom Line:

Do you not see or understand, do you not grasp what has happened, don’t you catch on? Are your hearts so resistant to what God is doing, is your mind closed?

What it means to me:

I need to be careful with getting caught up in myself and not seeing what God is doing. If I do, I’ll miss out on what God is doing in my life, especially if I remain focused on the here-and-now and not what God wants to do in my life for the long term. When I think about comfort rather than character, when I think about my happiness and not my holiness, when I’m thinking about enjoying now instead of preparing for eternity; I’m caught up in short-term thinking, and it will keep me from seeing life clearly. This is what happened with the disciples in this passage. Jesus was trying to teach them a lesson about pride by using yeast as a metaphor. The Bible says in Mark 8:16-17, “His followers discussed the meaning of this, saying, ‘He said this because we have no bread.’ Knowing what they were talking about, Jesus asked them, ‘Why are you talking about not having bread? Do you still not see or understand? Are your minds closed?’” (NCV) Jesus was trying to teach the disciples a lesson about life, and they thought he was talking about lunch! He was talking about the need for maturity, and they were talking about their next meal. Now that’s short-term thinking. Unfortunately, short-term thinking will keep me from seeing how God is working in my life. It’s hard to think long-term today because everything in our society teaches me to do the opposite. We tend to rob the future to enjoy today. We’re setting up years and years of unpayable debt to future generations so we can do what we want now. Whenever I’m thinking short-term, I won’t be able to see what God’s doing. I won’t be able to see his long-range plans for my character when I’m thinking only about my own comfort.