Don't Ignore the Weeds

 “The owner’s servants came to him and said, ‘Sir, didn’t you sow good seed in your field? Where then did the weeds come from?” Matthew 13:27 (NIV)

    I finally decided to spend two long, hot afternoons pulling huge weeds out of the landscaping in my backyard a few years ago. The job was completed, but not without some negative outcomes, including sunburned shoulders, a sore back, and about two million (more or less) chigger bites. To be honest, I had not really given much thought to my backyard plants and shrubs for a long time. 

    Now, the landscaping in the front yard was a totally different story. I spent hours almost every day making it look attractive. Mowing and trimming, and weed eating and watering and mulching and planting new flowers and shrubs and, yes, pulling weeds were always on the agenda.

    Why the difference in the attention that I gave each yard? It’s simple. The front yard – the one that I spent so much time on to make it attractive – is the yard closest to the street. It’s the yard everyone sees when they drive by. No one sees the backyard but me.

    But you know what? The very same weeds that tried to creep up in my front yard were also sneaking into my landscaping in the backyard. I knew that. It’s just that since no one saw them, I didn’t think they were that important.

    Isn’t that how it is with sin? The “big” sins – the ones people can see – are the ones we declare we would never allow in our lives. For example, we would never murder someone. And yet, we read in I John that when we allow the hate weed to grow in our hearts, we have murdered. (I John 3:15)

   And what about adultery? We state loudly that we would never commit that sin, but if we allow lust to shove its roots into our hearts, that’s exactly what we have done. (Matthew 5:28). No one sees those weeds in the “backyard,” but they are there. 

    So how do I keep them out of my heart? The answer is clear: I have to be digging into God’s Word. Not every so often, on an afternoon. But every day. Why? Because when I am NOT in the Word, I allow weeds to sprout up in my heart. And since I am unable to identify them for what they are, I may either fail to spot them or simply ignore them until they have multiplied and spread from the backyard to the front yard of my life. 

    Not only that, but the good seed that has been sown? The compassion and mercy and grace and forgiveness and love that the Lord has given me? It is “choked out” and wilts and dies when the weeds are allowed to grow. 

    Take a deep look into your heart. What are you growing? You may be like me: It’s time to dig in the Word and do some weeding in my life. 

    Father, show me in your Word what weeds I need to pull out of my heart to be more like you. In Jesus’ Name. Amen. 

R.A.P. it up . . . 

Reflect

• Can you identify sins in your heart that you have allowed to grow?

• What is your reason for allowing them to grow?

Apply

• Memorize Matthew 13:27 and write it in your journal daily.

• At the end of each day, make a list of the “weeds” that you allowed in your heart and replace them with God’s words of truth.

Power

• Matthew 13:27 (NIV) “The owner’s servants came to him and said, ‘Sir, didn’t you sow good seed in your field? Where then did the weeds come from?” 

• Psalm 119:11 (NIV) “I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you.” 

• Proverbs 28:13 (NIV) “He who conceals his sins does not prosper, but whoever confesses and renounces them finds mercy.”