Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants.
Matthew 13:7 NIVUK
The seed falling among the thorns refers to someone who hears the word, but the worries of this life and the deceitfulness of wealth choke the word, making it unfruitful.
Matthew 13:22 NIVUK
I come from a nation whose national plant is a thistle. The legend of how it came to be our national plant is quite amusing. It states that the Romans were invading our southern borders. Being from the Mediterranean, they were dressed in open-toed sandals. They were chasing Scottish troops when they ran into a field of thistles.
You can imagine what happened next.
I can honestly say, despite our national attachment to them, that I'm not overly fond of thistles. Or any weed for that matter. They are a real pain to get rid of. They just keep coming back. And they absorb the nutrients of the plants that you want to grow in your garden.
Jesus here describes something that is so bang up-to-date. He describes good, fertile soil, with lots of nutrients. Plenty for the good seed to grow. But weeds, and thorns in particular, have taken up residence. These spiky intruders sap the nutrients and choke the seed, preventing it from becoming strong.
The things Jesus calls out as being represented by these spiky, jagged intruders are really telling.
Firstly, the worries of this life. These are outlined in depth earlier in Matthew:
‘Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life? ‘And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labour or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendour was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you – you of little faith? So do not worry, saying, “What shall we eat?” or “What shall we drink?”or “What shall we wear?” For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them.
Matthew 6:25-32 NIVUK
The word translated as ‘worries’ in both verses also means ‘anxieties’. So anxiety is an enemy of faith that can prevent us from growing and being productive for the Kingdom of Heaven.
In fact, holding on to anxiety is an act of faithlessness – it doesn’t trust God to resolve the issue.
There is much in life to make us anxious – and more so now that at any time in history.
But how do we defeat it?
Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
Philippians 4:6-7 NIVUK
Faithful prayer is the antidote for anxiety.
My country has a lot of bridges: some old, some new; some big, some small.
Many of the older bridges were not built to be high enough for modern traffic to pass underneath or strong enough to bear it. And so there are road signs which tell you the height and strength of the bridges. If you ignore them and take a Heavy Goods Vehicle over an ancient bridge, you are heading for disaster.
That is why, I believe, we see these words in Scripture:
‘Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.’
Matthew 11:28-30 NIVUK
Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time. Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.
1 Peter 5:6-7 NIVUK
The reason why we are instructed to cast (that is, to throw) our anxieties and burdens onto the Lord is because we are not designed to carry them. If we try to bear them, we will break.
We are supposed to take them to the Lord in prayer.
Of course, the idea is not that we then do nothing at all about them. Our time of prayer may reveal things we can do to alleviate the worry. But first and foremost, we must bring them to God and seek to expand His rule. He promises that when we do this, our needs will be met (Matthew 6:33).
Weeds primarily have three negative effects: starvation (by consuming resources), suffocation (by preventing plants from obtaining nutrients from the soil and the sun) and strangulation (by preventing plants from growing).
Anxiety has precisely the same effect on us.
But if we lay all our problems at the feet of the Lord, leave them there and put Him first, we will be released from our anxieties and will once again be able to grow.
Secondly, Jesus mentions the deceitfulness of wealth.
And believe me, it is deceitful.
We place all our longings on having money. ‘If only I had a little more... I could...’ we say to ourselves. Our dreams and desires force us to work harder, earn more, buy more, borrow more.
It’s a nonsense.
Look at this ancient proverb:
Whoever loves money never has enough; whoever loves wealth is never satisfied with their income. This too is meaningless.
Ecclesiastes 5:10 NIVUK
This is way too true, and uncomfortably so.
Did you know that money basically has no value at all in itself? The only value it has is the value we give it. It’s the same with any valuable or asset or resource.
Nothing at all – ever – has a fixed value.
Everything we have and own and desire to own only ever becomes valuable because either we or someone else believes it to be valuable. Literally everything: our house, our car, our TV, our stereo, our collections... everything.
So if we spend our money looking to accumulate money and things just for the sake of having them, what will happen if someone changes the rules and they all become worthless?
Do you think it won’t happen? What about:
Negative equity.
Market crashes.
Pension fund collapses.
Currency re/devaluations.
Inflationary increases or decreases.
Quantitive easing.
Economic crashes.
They've all happened relatively recently and far too close to us for us to take any comfort.
We need to heed the warning!
Those who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction.
1 Timothy 6:9 NIVUK
‘No-one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money.
Matthew 6:24 NIVUK
Jesus told this parable about two men who simply wanted to build a life for themselves:
‘Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash.’
Matthew 7:24-27 NIVUK
Money and materialism and all that comes along with it are the ultimate in sandy soils. They are also the ultimate in weed-infested soils. Giving the best of our energy simply to gain for the sake of gain is a fool’s game. It will sap our energy, waste our time and leave us with nothing.
There is a reason why, I believe, Jesus specifically used thorns in this parable at this point. He could have used any weed. There were many in Israel at the time. But I believe He used thorns because they have a prick that causes you pain.
If we live our lives filled with anxiety, or the desire simply to own, then one day we will wake up and realise that everything we lived for has been a humongous waste of time.
And that is really going to sting.
My hope and prayer is that this will not happen to you.
Prayer
Lord Jesus, I find these words very worrying. Help me, I pray, to yank these thorns out of my life by the root. I no longer want to waste the time and energy you gave me on anxiety and the desire for wealth. Help me to live differently – for you. Amen
Questions
1. Why does anxiety choke our productivity for God? Why does it do this?
2. Why is wealth deceitful? Why does a desire for it choke our productive for God?
3. How can you make sure that neither of these thorns chokes your productivity?
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