After leaving Dalmanutha due to a confrontation with the Pharisees, Jesus now has to deal with a problem with His own disciples in the boat in which they are traveling (Mk 8:14-21).  Jesus’ companions are clearly concerned about their bellies, since they find they are running short on bread.  Jesus asks them to look beyond that to “guard against the leaven of the Pharisees” per there many recent encounters with members of this group.   Yet they continue to lack understanding of an important spiritual matter (the Pharisees’ corruption and hypocrisy) as they focus on a minor physical concern (apparently they had forgotten that in recent days, in two separate episodes, Jesus multiplied food miraculously for a total of 9000 persons).  Let us not get caught in the trap of focusing so much on temporary physical needs that we neglect spiritual needs that have eternal ramifications.  Do not delay prayer, good works, total dedication to the Lord, due to earthly concerns.  We don’t save these until after this or that need or concern is taken care of.  We may find that when the Lord calls, we will never have gotten to these important matters.  What will we say, then, when we meet the Lord face to face?