weeds, worry and wealth

I once preached a sermon on the parable of the sower, which I read again this morning. Then, as now, I was drawn especially to what Jesus says about the third seed.

Matthew 23:22 “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.”

Unlike the first and second seeds, the third seed could become good plants. The soil is OK, and the birds didn’t snatch it up. This potentially health faith was choked out by some pervasive weeds: worry and wealth.

Worry whispers “what if” in my ear, but what it really says is “what if God can’t handle this” or “what if God leaves you in the lurch?” For a Christian, worry always has an element of doubt in God, because we know we rely on his providence. If we trust, we don’t worry.

And when we worry, it’s often about money. Note that Jesus doesn’t say money is a weed, he specifically says the deceitfulness of wealth. I think this means the opposite of worry, this means finding security but in the wrong thing. Money could make me think I don’t need God; when the money is flowing I’m doing it myself, and I’m not doing without. I don’t need anything else, including God.

I’m always fascinated by this third seed because I think it captures the faith challenges of many Christians. I’m already past the stage where the first two seeds failed, but being side-tracked by worry or wealth is still very possible.

It’s a reminder to me that whether I have everything I want or I can’t see how I’m going to get by, my answer should be the same: to thank God for his providence, and rely only on it.