EVIL SEED

Jesus gave a parable of a man who planted good seeds, and while he slept an enemy came and planted weeds in the midst of the good seeds. He allowed the good seeds and the weeds to grow together until the harvest day. This parable applies to the church. In the church, we find bad mixed with good. Every congregation has members whose sexual conduct is embarrassing – or whose business ethics are questionable – or who treat people unkindly – or who advocate questionable doctrine. These are people who have been named witches and occultist in the church. There are also those who are conspicuously wicked. We should not be discouraged or surprised to observe all these. They are sure to happen. The enemy is still busy planting his dangerous seeds within the church. The church is made up of saints and sinners.

When the servants of the land owner wanted to remove the weeds from among the seeds, the master did not allow him because there was danger of pulling away both the good and the bad. “the servants asked him, do you want us to go and gather them up?” but he said, ‘No, lest perhaps while you gather up the darnel weeds, you root up the wheat with them’” (Mt 13: 28-29). In this parable, Jesus calls us to patience and faith –patience with those who fail to meet up with the standard. It is possible that they will pick up one day. Maybe there is a sermon they need to listen to so they can repent. It is possible that their day of metanoia is coming. Jesus calls us to withhold action lest we create more problems than we solve—lest we destroy the good with bad – lest we “root up the wheat along with them (the weeds).” We are also taught by his parable not to be judgmental. Jesus already has advised us not to judge so we wouldn’t be judged. It is only God who is in the position to judge. There are cases when people we condemn are better than we are. Some of them have some fantastic qualities that we don’t have. Therefore, why condemn them? However, it is not that we should drop all efforts to maintain integrity in the church. As we try to keep the church pure, we should know that God is the supreme judge and sees better than we do. He should be at the center of all our decisions.

This parable applies to us individually. The weeds are the works of the devil in our lives. Sometimes you wonder how some vices develop in your life. You wonder how certain problems came up into your family and how things begin to go the wrong way in your life. It must have been the enemy that has planted the seed in you. The best thing to do is to approach God. He is our supreme judge and knows better than we do. He knows better how to handle our problems and challenges.