“11 The Pharisees came out and began to argue with Him, demanding of Him a sign from heaven to test Him. 12 But sighing deeply in His spirit, He said, ‘Why does this generation demand a sign? I assure you: No sign will be given to this generation!’ 13 Then He left them, got on board the boat again, and went to the other side.

14 They had forgotten to take bread and had only one loaf with them in the boat. 15 Then He commanded them: ‘Watch out! Beware of the yeast of the Pharisees and the yeast of Herod.’

16 They were discussing among themselves that they did not have any bread. 17 Aware of this, He said to them, ‘Why are you discussing that you do not have any bread? Don’t you understand or comprehend? Is your heart hardened? 18 Do you have eyes, and not see, and do you have ears, and not hear? And do you not remember? 19 When I broke the five loaves for the 5,000, how many baskets full of pieces of bread did you collect?’

‘Twelve,’ they told Him.

20 ‘When I broke the seven loaves for the 4,000, how many large baskets full of pieces of bread did you collect?

‘Seven,’ they said.

21 And He said to them, ‘Don’t you understand yet?'”

Mark 8:11-21
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I have had this same experience so many times in life. Someone comes to me with a question about something and my mind is completely occupied with something closely related, yet not quite where they are coming from. And because of that distraction, I find myself struggling to understand whatever their issue is. I can see what they’re saying, but I can’t see it fully. 

Usually it’s just a funny little mix up, and after a second of thinking about it, everything snaps into place and the understanding comes. It’s also typically over something that doesn’t matter too much and nothing is lost because of it. But here with the disciples, and with our own hearts and minds, we find that there is a deeper issue at hand. 

Jesus is trying to issue a warning about influences that affect the heart, but they’re stuck on lunch supplies. Because of temporal concerns, they are distracted from dealing with deeper spiritual issues. And herein lies the problem. When the things of this world occupy our hearts, when they consume our minds, we are going to find ourselves lost when it comes to the deeper issues, the things that really and truly matter. 

The disciples were directly in the presence of Jesus, they heard the warning come straight from His lips, and still they didn’t understand. Their hearts were distracted. 

People today read the Word, they hear the message of God straight from the source, but because their hearts are distracted, they miss out on what is really being said. And this isn’t just something that affects those new to the faith, we are all susceptible to this, no matter our ‘level’ of maturity. Physical distractions and the pride of our hearts are often the cause of the misunderstanding. But all sin is a distraction, busyness is a distraction, work or school, social pressures, and the list goes on…so many things can keep our hearts from hearing from God. But we must be actively aware of the struggle so we can effectively combat it. 

As we GoLove others, it is up to us to be the example of a Holy Spirit led heart and a God directed mind. If we just think and live like the rest of the unbelieving world, what good does that do us or them?