Please get rid of those weeds

If you were to look at the yards of my neighbors around me right now, you'd see a massive overgrowth of weeds in more than a few yards. As much as we try to keep our homes free of weeds, they seem to come up. One neighbor who neglects their overgrowth can actually 'support' the growth of those little nuisances in the yards of all the other neighbors! You know, if we stop to think about it, the 'weeds' we tolerate in our spiritual life are equally as 'prolific'. The ones we associate with can actually be affected by their overgrowth in our lives - causing their lives to become 'infested' with those weeds if they aren't quick to notice those seeds drifting their way!

Don’t be misled: No one makes a fool of God. What a person plants, he will harvest. The person who plants selfishness, ignoring the needs of others—ignoring God!—harvests a crop of weeds. All he’ll have to show for his life is weeds! But the one who plants in response to God, letting God’s Spirit do the growth work in him, harvests a crop of real life, eternal life. (Galatians 6:7-8 MSG)

Weeds don't require planting - they just pop up! They don't require 'maintenance' and fertilizing - they just grow wherever they find the place to grow. They are 'opportunistic' - they don't really need a place of their own because they are quite content in yours! We might not even notice there are a few 'weeds' in our lives, but when we engage the help of others, we might just begin to see things a little differently. We just see the 'green' there and figure it is all 'good' growth, but when the one who sees our lives with 'fresh eyes' looks at us, they see signs of 'weedy undergrowth' - which if left unattended will become the 'weedy overgrowth' before long!

While none of us is totally comfortable with 'outside eyes' focusing on our lives, it may be necessary to engage the help of another to actually begin to notice where 'weedy growth' has taken root in our lives. We don't always see the things that are right in front of us, do we? Sometimes we do, but we ignore it because it is too much trouble to deal with it. One of my neighbors is that way - I think they think if they ignore their weeds long enough, they will somehow just 'disappear'. Nothing could be further from the truth, though, for even long after they wither in the heat, the seeds are left behind for that time when the rains will come that will spark the new growth of the next 'bad harvest'.

This may seem like a kind of 'lame' post today, but consider this for just a moment - whatever sin we tolerate to the least degree in our lives today will probably eventually grow into astronomical proportions at a later time. Until we deal with the weed, there will always be another seed. One seed is capable of multiplied seeds. Each seed producing another round of 'weedy growth' in our lives. The only way to deal with sin is to rid ourselves of it once and for all. It might just take us engaging the help of another because we don't have the wherewithal to deal with the root of the problem on our own. It is okay to ask for help. Until the root is removed, the potential for regrowth is still there. 

God isn't going to just spray a little bit of weed killer in our lives and call it 'done'. He wants us to get at the root - not on our own, but with his help and the help of others he places in our lives to help us expose that root and get it out. The Sunday sermon may have been a little bit like 'weed killer' - helping you to halt the growth of the 'weed' in your life, but the Sunday sermon only helped curb the growth. There must be ongoing maintenance - observing for any sign of regrowth and tending to it immediately. The seeds are still there - but they don't have to take hold again if we allow the Spirit of God to be our diligent watchman! Just sayin!

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