With the arrival of spring, the first plant you see emerging from the ground will likely be a weed. According to Leonard Gianessi, director of the non-profit research institute, "Every acre of soil contains 50 to 300 million buried weed seeds that can stay viable underground for several decades while 2.5 million weeds emerge every year on every acre of cropland. They compete with crops for water, nutrients, space, and sunlight. To prevent crop losses, they must be controlled."
Weeds are more than simply unsightly plants in a field. They're thieves! They rob soil moisture and nutrients from the desired crop. They ultimately decrease harvest efficiencies. Some weeds have thorns, botanists identify those “thorns” as spines or prickles. One I have discovered I need to regularly battle in my yard is the stinging nettle (Urtica dioica) which grows abundantly throughout North America and temperate regions across the Northern Hemisphere. Failure to recognize this thorn, or any thorn has caused many gardeners to suffer accidental agony as they tend their garden.
In Matthew 13 Christ gives us the Parable of the Sower and the Seed in which the Sower throws his seed on four types of ground. In verse 7 “And some fell among thorns, and the thorns sprang up and choked them”. Thorns are nothing more than a prickly weed, albeit one you are less likely to touch. You know when you touch a thorny weed because it hurts! In the Bible, seventeen different Hebrew and Greek words are used to describe weeds, though they are often translated as "thorns," "thistles," "briers," and the like.
What do weeds do? Weeds cause many problems including dockage, increase the risk of spoilage and numbers of harmful insects or diseases, and most importantly; weeds reduce crop yield. They choke, entangle, and inevitably steal. They hinder the desired fruit from maturing. They may not necessarily completely stop growth, but they can slow it down to the point that the fruit is stunted or never ripens. The spiritual parallels are evident.
Christ explains in Matthew 13:22, “Now he who received seed among the thorns is he who hears the word, and the cares of this world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and he becomes unfruitful”. Although they may be at times difficult to identify, the cares of this world and the deceitfulness of riches are weeds! Understanding the significance of this direct statement of scripture is important. Why did Christ use this analogy? The answer may be linked to what we are told in Luke 16:10 “He who is faithful in what is least is faithful also in much; and he who is unjust in what is least is unjust also in much”.
Weeds have a few common characteristics. They are aggressive, most often much quicker than the desired crop in sprouting, reproducing, and ultimately spreading. The seeds can remain dormant in the soil for decades, you must be faithful in controlling them early on as they sprout and consistent thereafter. Because of their aggressiveness weeds steal, robbing the moisture and nutrients from the desired plants. Because of the speed of their growth, they also steal the sunlight, and ultimately, they crowd out the tender young shoots, stealing their space and the nutrients needed to produce good fruit. Weeds are a problem that will not go away! Any farmer or gardener will verify that one hundred percent control of weeds is impossible. Even aggressive weed haters strive to manage the problem. A gardener must watch constantly for them and attack their appearance early and consistently.
Again, why did Christ use this analogy? Because frankly our spiritual lives work the same way. The world and the cares of this life are all around us; we cannot totally eradicate those influences. They are weeds, thieves by nature that may even appear to have “spines or prickles”. Thorns that can easily make us hesitant to touch; especially if we see them “as little things”. But we can and absolutely must efficiently and effectively manage them on a consistent basis or they will in fact choke us spiritually to where the fruit in our lives becomes stunted or fails to mature.
Let’s consider, what happens if we miss a day of prayer or Bible study? Spiritual weeds pop up, and more quickly than one may think. What happens if we consistently neglect fellowshipping together as the manner of some is? What happens if we fail to pray for our brethren? What happens if we don’t watch our words? What happens if we hold onto that “little” grievance? What happens if we let that root of bitterness just sit there? What happens if we are not striving to be kind, or gentle? What happens if we… What happens is those seeds that can lay in the ground for decades germinate and sprout weeds. Weeds are entanglements, and they must be plucked up by the roots before they become firmly planted as habits. A difficult question each of us must ask of ourselves. Are there weeds sprouting in my life?
Recall the Parable of the Sower and the Seed. Among the parallel accounts in Matthew, Mark and Luke, weeds are defined as: 1) The cares of this world, which one commentator calls "anxious, unrelaxing attention to the business of this life." This would include fears and insecurities we allow to dictate our actions. 2) The deceitfulness of riches—not wealth in and of itself, but its drawing power, its allure. Abraham, Joseph, Solomon, Job, and others of God's people show that He has blessed many with wealth. But it takes tremendous diligence and character to handle riches. 3) The pleasures of this life. The delights which worldly prosperity allows us to enjoy, in themselves, may be innocent. But do they draw so much of our attention, so much of our time, that little remains for spiritual things?
When the Sower threw the seed among thorns, he did not throw it on poor soil. It appears that it was just as moist and fertile as the good soil! Notice that the "thorns sprang up" after the seed was cast; the weeds were not significant beforehand—they were insignificant, little things. But when they "sprang up," they were not cleared away and ultimately growth was choked! Remember thorns are simply weeds we don’t desire to touch.
In Matthew 13:22-23 the only difference between the seed sown among weeds and the seed sown on good soil is in the action and reactions of the hearer. Both heard the Word, but only one faithfully acts on what he hears (James 1:22; Luke 6:44). What happens if we think “oh this patch of weeds isn’t really in the garden so I can ignore it”? “If it really becomes a problem, I’ll deal with it then”. Consider this question: why are true Christians advised to “test yourselves to see if you are in the faith; examine yourselves! Or do you not recognize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you—unless indeed you fail the test? (2 Corinthians 13:5)
Ponder this with me as the seed sown on good soil could easily be overcome and choked out by weeds if action were to become inaction—the seeds are there with all of us (Romans 12:1-2; 1 John 3:8; James 2:26; 2 Peter 1:5-8). What if we lose our diligence (some may say “first love”), or we allow spiritual laziness to come into our lives? (Revelation 3:15-17) What if we fail to do what scripture indicates we should do, find ourselves justifying, or perhaps beginning to think “oh this is just a little thing”?
Neglecting faithfulness in what may appear as little things can lead to big trouble. As much as David brought down a giant with something little — a small stone; likewise, a small indiscretion — a lingering look — turned into adultery, deception, and then murder. He lost four of his sons and nearly the kingdom over something that started with a little thing — a lingering look at Bathsheba. The point is that the gardener must stir himself to be diligent and not allow weeds to grow (2 Timothy 2:15; Proverbs 4:23, 8:12; Hebrews 6:11). Remember what the weeds are? Christ identifies them as, “the cares of this world, the deceitfulness of riches and the pleasures of this life”!
Every day we have to "hoe", weed and work in our spiritual garden. Has your practice or behaviour changed in the last couple of years? Is it for the better, or has lethargy and complacency crept in? (consider Matthew 7:26; 22:1-14; Luke 12:47-48; 14:18) Evaluate, or perhaps re-evaluate what we are doing and why — remembering little things matter (1 Corinthians 10:12). In this regard, writer E.G. White puts it this way: “It is one of Satan’s most successful devices, to lead men to the commission of little sins, to blind the mind to the danger of little indulgences, little digressions from the plainly stated requirements of God. Many who would shrink with horror from some great transgression, are led to look upon sin in little matters as of trifling consequence. But those little sins eat out the life of godliness in the soul” (Review & Herald, November 8, 1887).
As I conclude this pastor’s message, it has been said that mountains are made of many grains of sand, and lifetimes are made of many little moments. So too is our spiritual life; little things matter—there is power in little things; both positive and negative. When we waste our moments, we waste our lives—we must not waste spiritual opportunities, we must not sleep, slumber, or find ourselves folding our hands (Proverbs 24:32-34). Why? Weeds will indeed pop up; “but while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat and went his way” (Matthew 13:25). The Bible is clear, “Because of laziness the building decays, and through idleness of hands the house leaks” (Ecclesiastes 10:18). We can easily become so busy with physical things the spiritual things have little or no attention. Summer is upon us and with that an understanding it is even now growing season. The bride must be diligently making herself ready! If you are not checking your garden every day, weeds could now be springing up among your useful plants, crowding them out, choking them, preventing them from producing quality fruit! Identify weeds and pull them out quickly, stay diligent and you will indeed reap a bumper crop of good fruit! “By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; so you will be My disciples” (John 15:8). What an exciting time we all look forward to, “Let us rejoice and be glad and give the glory to Him, for the marriage of the Lamb has come and His bride has made herself ready.” (Revelation 19:7)