Are You “Pig-Headed”?

I don’t think this terminology is used much anymore, but as I was reading a portion of scripture the phrase came flooding into my mind because it rightly reflects how often we are “Thick Headed” and motivated by what’s in front of us rather than by what’s best for us. It also reflects the idea of inflexibility and the way many of us get trapped in a thinking process that we can’t seem to adjust or change for the better. So much of what Jesus taught in his three and a half years of ministry was trying to expose this mindset and heart condition that kept people imprisoned to a patterns of living that were both harmful and sad.

Growing up in California, my grandparents on my mother’s side, raised both animals and vegetables to supplement their income. At one time they would raise 1,500 chickens for selling and for the eggs they could lay. They would also, at the same time, raise nearly 500 rabbits. My favorite thing to do was to go into the barn and watch the pigs. My grandmother would take the vegetable scraps and cook this kind of slop that the pigs loved. Had the pigs known they were being set up to be butchered I wonder if they would like what they were eating so much?

The point I’m trying to get at is we often intellectually and spiritually eat the same “Slop” day in and day out and don’t even notice we are just getting fat and lazy not healthy. When we read scripture or hear a teaching that contradicts what we have believed for so long we reject it outright as not worthy of our consideration rather than going back into scripture to discover if what we read or heard has any value. Let me illustrate this with a chapter in the gospel of Mark where Jesus performs a miracle of feeding 4,000 men, not to mention women and children.

Mark 8:1-4

¹In those days, when there was again a large crowd and they had nothing to eat, Jesus called His disciples and *said to them, “I feel compassion for the people because they have remained with Me now three days and have nothing to eat.

“If I send them away hungry to their homes, they will faint on the way; and some of them have come from a great distance.” And His disciples answered Him, “Where will anyone be able to find enough bread here in this desolate place to satisfy these people?”

How many times have we read a passage of scripture and overlooked a key principle or truth? I know I have and, because of that, I try to read with an inquisitive mind so I don’t overlook something important.

At the beginning of the story, Jesus says he has compassion on the crowd and wants to feed them all. The disciples just hear the magnitude of the idea and I’m sure miss the subtle truth Jesus is communicating. God has compassion by releasing generosity because of the conduct of the crowd.   The crowd had been following Jesus to hear his words at the expense of their own needs and hunger. I think we believe that God releases blessing or opportunity arbitrarily rather than with intent. Had they caught that truth they would have changed some of their behavior to gain a greater advantage in recovering God’s favor. Let me illustrate.

Proverbs 15:8-9 

The sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination to the LORD, But the prayer of the upright is His delight.

The way of the wicked is an abomination to the LORD, But He loves one who pursues righteousness.

Solomon, the wisest man on earth at the time, understood and penned the truth that God responds to our choices. If our choices have a wrong motive he withholds blessing.  However, if our motives and conduct are upright he is not only pleased, but also releases blessing. So often I have heard teachers saying things that contradict this truth and people lose the incentive for good conduct. One of Jesus’ primary parables was about sowing and reaping.  What you sow or do has consequences both good or bad. God gave this understanding in life through the area of farming, the most basic part of life until the turn of this century. Now the average person goes to the grocery store to buy food instead of learning life’s truth of sowing and reaping. This basic truth is still apparent to anyone willing to see. If you work you will have money to buy things. In our cultural climate politicians want the government to provide everything from food to education for free. To the simple person this seems right because it meets their needs, but someone has to pay for what they receive.  Socialism and communism is such a foolish idea yet in America our universities have taught such stupidity.  Since I have lived in socialistic and communistic countries myself I can tell you that these countries have a short shelf life.

Now, back to the story where Jesus is trying to get deeper things through to his disciples.

Mark 8:14-21 

And they had forgotten to take bread, and did not have more than one loaf in the boat with them. And He was giving orders to them, saying, “Watch out! Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the leaven of Herod.” They began to discuss with one another the fact that they had no bread. ¹And Jesus, aware of this, *said to them,

“Why do you discuss the fact that you have no bread? Do you not yet see or understand? Do you have a hardened heart? “HAVING EYES, DO YOU NOT SEE? AND HAVING EARS, DO YOU NOT HEAR? And do you not remember, when I broke the five loaves for the five thousand, how many baskets full of broken pieces you picked up?” They *said to Him, “Twelve.” “When I broke the seven for the four thousand, how many large baskets full of broken pieces did you pick up?”And they *said to Him, “Seven.” And He was saying to them, “Do you not yet understand?”

I feel blessed when I’m not the only one that misses truth that God is trying to communicate, but that can’t excuse my lack of insight and understanding when God wants me to work at uncovering the meaning of his words. The disciples had principles and illustrations given them that went right over their head because they were “Pig Headed” in their approach to Jesus’ words.  We all have the ability to hear God through our own personal filters which, in most cases, will distort his words.  The righteous alternative is to hear Jesus with the help of the Holy Spirit so we don’t miss the principles that can enrich and fill our lives with blessing from above.

Questions:

1) Have you ever considered yourself to be pig headed? Only you can turn that around with the help of the Holy Spirit.

2) Are you struggling to understand the words of God in scripture? The Holy Spirit will help if you ask.

Thank you Holy Spirit for your abundant help!

Pastor Dale