SEEDS, PLANTS and SOULS

23 WEEDS

What are weeds?
For a gardener, farmer or forester,
they are plants growing in the wrong place.
Plants that hinder the ones he or she finds useful.
Weeds by definition are not useful.

In natural vegetation,
all plants have a purpose
and so there aren't really any weeds
in the eyes of other plants.
All are in competition with each other.

However,
there are the colonisers, pioneers or opportunists
- plants that quickly spread,
establish themselves in gaps,
are persistent,
and very difficult to get rid of.

These are often the characteristics
of what we would classify as weeds.
They will quickly get a foothold on land
where the natural vegetation has been cleared away,
or where garden or farm crops have been left unmanaged.

Our soul is just like a garden,
where there is a constant battle to keep out weeds.
We want to let seeds of truth grow in it,
but whether we want them or not,
seeds of falsehood will always be trying to get a hold.

Christians' interpretations of evil in our world vary.
Whether there is actually a Devil
with a forked tongue and trident
is open to dispute.
But however we care to personify evil,
there is no doubt that there is a force
trying to uproot all that is good,
and sow seeds of rebellion.
That was clear in Genesis.

I think it best to take the Bible at its word,
and consider the Devil or Satan
as a being to be fought throughout our lives.
A battle that we have to continually fight,
but which in fact is already won by God's help.
However,
we must keep on letting God help us,
otherwise we will be overcome!

There are many allusions to weeds in the Bible.
Some we have already seen
- the thistles in Jesus' parable of the sower -
where they represent desires,
worries and the deceits of this world.

Jesus told his followers another parable
in which weeds figured prominently,
with a wider meaning.
Here is the parable,
and Jesus interpretation of it.

"The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field.
But while everyone was sleeping,
the enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat,
and went away.
When the wheat sprouted and formed ears,
then the weeds also appeared.

"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?
`An enemy did this,' he replied.
The servants asked him,
`Do you want us to go and pull them up?'
`No,' he answered,
`because while you are pulling the weeds,
you may root up the wheat with them.
Let both grow together until the harvest.
At that time I will tell the harvesters:
First collect the weeds
and tie them in bundles to be burned;
then gather the wheat and bring it into my barn.'
(Matthew 13:24-30)

The disciples asked for an explanation,
and this is what Jesus gave them:

"The one who sowed the good seed is the Son of Man.
The field is the world,
and the good seed stands for the sons of the kingdom.
The seeds are the sons of the evil one,
and the enemy who sows them is the devil.
The harvest is the end of the age,
and the harvesters are angels.

"As the weeds are pulled up and burned in the fire,
so it will be at the end of the age.
The Son of Man will send out his angels,
and they will weed out of his kingdom everything
that causes sin and all who do evil.
They will be thrown into the fiery furnace,
where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
Then the righteous will shine like the sun
in the kingdom of their father.
He who has ears, let him hear.
(Matthew 13:37-43)

And in hearing,
let us hope we have

ears o wheat and not of weeds!
The prophet Hosea used the allegory of sowing seeds
to describe the unfaithfulness of Israel to her God.
Much the same could be said of us today.
Israel's God was, is and always will be our God.

Sow for yourself righteousness,
reap the fruit of unfailing love,
and break up your unploughed ground;
for it is time to seek the Lord,
until he comes and showers blessings on you.
But you have planted wickedness,
you have reaped evil,
you have eaten of the fruit of deception.
Because you have depended on your own strength
and on your many warriors,
the roar of battle will rise against your people
so that all your fortresses will be devastated.
(Hosea 10:12-14)

Much later,
Paul wrote in his letter to the Hebrews
to warn them against falling away  from their faith
and ignoring what had been revealed to them:

Land that drinks in the rain often falling on it
and that produces a crop
useful to those for whom it is farmed
receives the blessing of God.
But land that produces thorns and thistles is worthless
and is in danger of being cursed.
In the end it will be burned.
(Hebrews 6:7-6)

Later on Paul exhorts them to:

Make every effort to live in peace with all men
and to be holy;
without holiness no-one will see God.
See to it that no-one misses the grace of God
and that no bitter root grows up
to cause trouble and defile many
(Hebrews 12:14-15)

Parasitic figs are a good example of this type of `root'.
Their seeds can get lodged in the crowns of trees,
and send down a root
that eventually encircles and strangles the `host'.
The tree eventually dies and rots away,
with a hollow mass of roots and branches of the fig
taking its place.
At first glance it looks like a tree,
but a closer examination will reveal the deception.

Simple weeds have less subtle ways
of overtaking a garden.
They just muscle in and shade out everything.
That was the imagery Jesus used
in the parable of the sower.

So how do we protect ourselves
from the weeds around us,
and how do we weed out what is bad in our lives?
What are the ways we can avoid
being encroached upon by thorns and thistles,
and how can we hoe, till,
and generally uproot all that is bad and false in our lives?

Part of the answer lies in the natural way.
That is to make sure we let what we want to grow
develop and establish itself quickly.
In forestry,
the quicker you can make a plantation close canopy,
the quicker you can suppress the weeds.
However,
to make plants grow you have to feed them.
We've already looked at what constitutes our own spiritual food
- so we musn't neglect that.
But even with good growth
there will still be a lot of weedkilling to be done.

In fact,
in the spiritual garden of our souls,
you should expect to need weedkillers more as spiritual growth increases.
That is the nature of the Devilweed
- he is most unhappy
when everything in the garden is beautiful
and will work even harder to spoil things!

Let's take a look at the arsenal of spiritual weedkillers
 that we have at our disposal.
Paul writing to the Ephesians
uses the analogy of the armour of God.

Finally,
be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power.
Put on the full armour of God
so that you can take your stand
against the devil's schemes.
For our struggle is not against flesh and blood,
but against rulers,
against authorities,
against the powers of this dark world
and against the spiritual forces of evil
in the heavenly realms.

Therefore,
put on the armour of God,
so that when the day of evil comes,
you may be able to stand your ground,
and after you have done everything,
to stand.
Stand firm then,
with the belt of truth buckled round your waist,
with the breastplate of righteousness in place,
and with your feet fitted with the readiness
that comes from the gospel of peace.

In addition to all this,
take up the shield of faith
with which you can extinguish
all the flaming arrows of the evil one.
Take the helmet of salvation
and the sword of the Spirit,
which is the Word of God.
And pray in the Spirit on all occasions
with all kinds of prayers and requests.
With this in mind,
be alert and always keep praying for all the saints
(Ephesians 6:10-18)

Instead of a warrior,
it doesn't take much to imagine a gardener,
heavily kitted out with tough denims and boots,
wielding a machete, hoe and backpack sprayer,
taking on the vines, thorns, brambles and nettles
that keep on overtaking his patch.
Do we take this task seriously,
or do we sit back and let them grow?
Another day,
and it may become impenetrable!

Although weed seeds will always be around us in life,
it is of course sensible to make sure
we are as far removed from their source as possible.
In other words,
that means making sure
we don't expose ourselves to unnecessary temptation.
James has this to say about temptation:

When tempted, no-one should say,
"God is tempting me."
For God cannot be tempted by evil,
nor does he tempt anyone;
but each one is tempted when, by his own evil desire,
he is dragged away and enticed.
Then,
after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin;
and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death.
(James 1:13-15)
 

Weed seeds become a problem when, as thoughts,
they are entertained in our minds,
welcomed, enjoyed and allowed to germinate.
Paul writing to the Philippians recommends
a natural and logical antidote to this problem.
The passage follows on from a chapter that starts with
 "Rejoice in the Lord always",
which I sang in a choir as an anthem many times
and has always meant a lot to me.
I quoted part of it before:

Finally brothers,
whatever is true,
whatever is noble,
whatever is right,
whatever is pure,
whatever is lovely,
whatever is admirable
- if anything is excellent and praiseworthy -
think about such things.
(Philippians 4:8)

And that applies to the sisters too!

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