“Still others, like seed sown among thorns, hear the word; but the worries of this life, the deceitfulness of wealth and the desires for other things come in and choke the word, making it unfruitful.”
Jesus is referring to the gospel as seed, and people’s hearts as the soil where it lands. So, what is the condition of your soil? When was the last time you examined your heart for thorns?
Even healthy plants suffer from the proximity of weeds and thorns which use up nutrition and block the spread of good roots. Unwanted plants interfere with production. If you were to examine your heart for weeds and thorns, would you know what they look like?
Some are obvious… immorality, substance abuse, self-centeredness… We all recognize these as unwanted and destructive. But Jesus lists a few other things that sometimes pass under our radar unnoticed.
Christ calls “worrying” a thorn that stops you from bearing fruit. We think of worry as a mental health issue, but Jesus says it impacts us spiritually. Allowing worry to take root in my heart takes my focus off God and reduces my ability to make disciples. According to Jesus, it’s also a waste of time … "Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to your life?” "But blessed is the one who trusts in the Lord, whose confidence is in Him.” Anxiety is fruitless… Having confidence in God’s power removes the thorn of worry and replaces it with expectant and productive faith.
The second thorn Christ mentions is wealth’s unquenchable desire. He calls it deceitful. Its deceptiveness comes from the fact that money is not the root of all evil… it is the love of money that is the problem…. It will take root in your heart, distract you from chasing what matters, and choke out everything good you have planted. You can’t pursue God and money; so, choose one. Many who set out to accomplish worthy goals have seen the pursuit of profit take over and wreck their mission. Love of money is destructive and will make a garden worthless.
Faith and discipline can remove thorns from your life… Confidence in God can eradicate worry and eliminate your obsession with money. Removing those thorns is easy… deciding you want to, is what takes some doing.
“We gain the strength of the temptation we resist.” - Ralph Waldo Emerson
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