Christians spend time removing leaven in the days approaching each spring Holy Day season. We do this to follow God’s command: “Seven days shall there be no leaven found in your houses: for whosoever eats that which is leavened, even that soul shall be cut off from the congregation of Israel…” (Ex. 12:19).

All things containing leaven, a substance that makes bread rise and gives other foods taste and texture, must be found and disposed of before the First Day of Unleavened Bread.

The leaven in baker’s yeast, sourdough starter, baking soda and baking powder gives bread, cookies, cakes and crackers an airy, puffed-up quality. Leaven transforms a small lump of dough into a large loaf of bread filled with tiny pockets of air.

This makes leaven a perfect analogy for sin, which has a similar effect on people. As with leaven, sin puffs us up. If not found and disposed of, it will eventually fill its host (Gal. 5:9). (For more on why God chose leaven as an analogy for sin, read the “Leaven Pictures Sin” inset.)

Bending, crouching, stretching, twisting and turning in search of leaven within our properties mimics the effort required to find and remove sin from our lives.

It takes planning, cooperation, stamina and attention to detail to physically “purge out the old leaven” (I Cor. 5:7). Great satisfaction comes after checking off that final area on your deleavening to-do list and tossing out that last bit of leavened bread.

Yet we must be careful. Our zeal to complete the task of deleavening cannot overshadow what is most important. The preparation leading up to Passover and the Days of Unleavened Bread must not be merely physical. Not only do we search our homes, cars and workspaces for leaven—we must also remember to diligently search ourselves.

Don’t Miss the Point

The physical effort of removing leaven from our surroundings should remind us of the spiritual effort necessary to remove sin from our actions. As physical beings, we can easily jump into the literal task of deleavening while struggling to connect with the parallel spiritual assignment.

The religious leaders of Christ’s time fell into this trap. They took painstaking steps to address physical things while practically ignoring spiritual matters. Self-righteousness drove their approach.

Jesus indicted them for their incorrect thinking: “Even so you also outwardly appear righteous unto men, but within you are full of hypocrisy and iniquity” (Matt. 23:28). He wanted them to focus outwardly and inwardly.

Christ likened them to tombs or graves, which are clean and painted white or glossed on the outside but filled with death and decay (vs. 29). He admonished them for their actions, which were like cleaning the outside of a dirty pot or pan and leaving the inside untouched (vs. 26). Their focus was only on the areas people could see.

While the Pharisees’ attitude was extreme, Christians can fall into a similar mindset with deleavening. We can inadvertently spend much more time deleavening our cupboards than we do purifying our hearts. We can also find ourselves bragging to others about how early we begin to deleaven or how thorough our efforts are.

It is easy to see how this can happen. Physical deleavening provides immediate gratification. Breaking out vacuums, brooms, mops, dusters and trash cans is straightforward.

As you go from room to room, you can look back and see the fruits of your labors. Perhaps you have a systematic approach that starts with removing easy-to-find leaven agents and products in pantries and cupboards, followed by locating crumbs in pockets, purses or under car seats. Every member of the family, including children, can participate, making you feel unified. And since deleavening is related to self-examination, starting early and going the extra mile puts us in a good light in others’ minds.

Yet the real work of searching for and finding spiritual leaven is not so pleasant. It requires us to examine ourselves and seek for our own faults. Because we were born in sin and shaped in iniquity (Psa. 51:5), spiritual leaven is everywhere in and around us. We can clean up one area in our lives only to turn and see even more.

Getting rid of sin is hard and takes a lifetime—if only it were as easy as throwing out a box of crackers or vacuuming the nooks and crannies of a car!

However, we can and must put more effort into getting rid of sin than we do getting rid of leaven each year.

Mr. David Pack, who has pastored many thousands during his decades in the ministry, had the following observation: “Most people spend much more time physically deleavening their house than they do in private with a notepad and an open Bible, on their knees, deleavening their lives, examining themselves.” He would hear of people forbidding leaven in rooms days, sometimes weeks, in advance of the Holy Day. “That is wrong,” he said.

Mr. Pack urged instead for Christians to show “extreme diligence deleavening yourself and a certain diligence deleavening your house—not the other way around.”

Instead of spending months and weeks ahead of time planning to remove physical leaven, take a deep, honest look into your life in search of sin and wrong attitudes. Look at your weaknesses and come up with a game plan to overcome. Ask yourself why you fall short. Scrutinize the steps that usually lead to misdeeds. Open your Bible and research verses related to the problem. Actively seek help from God. Counsel with your minister. Write out your plan to truly overcome. (For more on this topic, read Mr. Pack’s article “You Can Overcome and Prevent Sin.”)

Approach deleavening the right way. Be balanced. Be diligent. Most important, be sure you prioritize and deleaven your life.

This was always God’s intent when He instituted the Days of Unleavened Bread and gave instructions to prepare for them (Ex. 12:15, 19).

Be Balanced

How can you ensure you take a balanced, humble, non-self-righteous approach to deleavening? Start the process early before the First Day of Unleavened Bread, but not too early. Except for unusual circumstances, it is not necessary to begin deleavening more than a few weeks in advance.

You can gradually get rid of leavened products by incorporating them in your meals and avoiding buying more when shopping. As the days approach, develop a game plan to remove leaven but avoid sectioning off large areas of your home as “deleavened zones.” This almost militant style can make God’s command burdensome and stressful. Remember, it is the Days—not months or weeks—of Unleavened Bread!

Families often do spring cleaning along with their deleavening, and this is fine. But the priority is to get rid of leaven. By combining other elements of cleaning the home, you risk wearing yourself out and detracting from the season’s real purpose. The extra time cleaning windows and attics can instead be spent in study and examination.

Remember to be reasonable in finding and getting rid of leaven. God does not expect us to completely take apart our toasters, ovens and other kitchen appliances to retrieve some crumbs or residue. Yes, we should strive to eliminate leaven, but everything has a reasonable and natural limit. Once again, the time spent dismantling an oven, our desk at work or the interior of our vehicles—just in case a crumb is there—takes away crucial time for self-examination. A balanced approach also allows time to serve in helping the elderly or infirm with their deleavening tasks.

Employing balance means we are equally sure to avoid being lackadaisical in deleavening. God expects us to take the practice seriously. The command in the Old Testament even warns that those who do not avoid leaven during the Days of Unleavened Bread were cut off from the congregation (Ex. 12:15, 19-20). Do not wait until the last minute. If you are new to deleavening, ask your minister or a senior member for advice.

Because we eat unleavened bread each day during the seven Days of Unleavened Bread (Ex. 12:15), make sure you also put forethought and planning into having unleavened bread on hand for daily use.

Keep the purpose of the spring Holy Days in mind in the time leading up to them. Yes, it is a sobering time of reflection, but it should also be a time to rejoice and grow.

Determine to make this year’s deleavening process even more meaningful!