If I planted weed seeds in a flower pot, I shouldn’t be surprised if weeds are what grows out of it.
“Well, duh…” you might be thinking.
Okay, but I have a question that we each need to ask ourselves.
What seeds are we allowing into the garden patch of our lives?
I’m talking about the spiritual and emotional soil given us by the Lord in the form of our minds and hearts.
If there are weeds or thorns — or both — in any aspect of our lives, then we need to start pulling more and we need to start protecting more.
Spiritual weeds are never accidental. Satan is always broadcasting the seeds and sometimes even offering us a handful “for free.”
But he never sticks them into our soil on his own. We have to allow him or sometimes we take the seed and plant it ourselves.
That’s why he is called the Tempter, not the Planter.
We have the choice to plant the seed, a choice we too often make.
You know the weeds growing in your life.
You know who handed the seeds to you or who was invited to plant them as you watched with blinded anticipation for a tasty harvest of pleasure or revenge or wealth or prideful “Nobody is going to tell me what to do.”
Here’s God’s warning about the garden patch of your life:
“Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it.” Proverbs 4:23
If you were in the business of selling greenhouse roses, you would be hyper-careful about what got into the soil in the flower beds.
Your survival as a business would depend on guarding the soil from corrupting seeds.
And so it is with our harvest of faith.
Let’s be hyper-careful about what we let into the soil of our lives.
Reject temptations to watch TV shows or movies that condone sin.
Avoid conversations with co-workers, classmates or relatives that decay into carnality, either with sexual innuendo or with animosity/condescension toward others or into straight-up, old-fashioned griping.
See as poison any offer to spend money that might prompt you to cut the amount of offerings you are giving to God on Sunday.
The list of weed seeds is much longer than my time window for providing examples, so I’ll stop.
Please remember the simple principle you’ve heard many times: garbage in, garbage out.
If you don’t want to serve garbage to God in terms of the life He seeks from you, then keep the garbage from coming into your heart.
“Whatever you do, whether in word or in deed, do it all for the glory of God.” (Colossians 3:17)
As always, I love you
Martin
