Triggered!
Matthew 13:24-30, CEB - Jesus told them another
parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like someone who planted good seed in his
field. While people were sleeping, an
enemy came and planted weeds among the wheat and went away. When the stalks sprouted and bore grain, then
the weeds also appeared.
“The servants of the landowner came and said to him,
‘Master, didn’t you plant good seed in your field? Then how is it that it has
weeds?’
“‘An enemy has done this,’ he answered.
“The servants said to him, ‘Do you want us to go and
gather them?’
“But the landowner said, ‘No, because if you gather the
weeds, you’ll pull up the wheat along with them. Let both grow side by side until the harvest.
And at harvesttime I’ll say to the harvesters, “First gather the weeds and tie
them together in bundles to be burned. But bring the wheat into my barn.”’”
Today,
we have another parable where Jesus intends for us to see another facet of the kingdom
of heaven. We always need to pay special
attention to the object of Jesus’s phrase “the kingdom of heaven is like…” In this case, Jesus suggests that the kingdom
is like a someone who planted good see. Jesus
is instructing us to pay attention to that “someone,” not the seeds, the enemy, the weeds, or
anything else. To see the nature of the
kingdom, we watch the seed-planter in the story.
The
planter plants good seeds. This is the
work of the kingdom. But there are enemies
working to sabotage our good seed-planter.
They plant weeds in hopes of choking out the new seedlings as they begin
to grow. But the enemies obviously aren’t
good planters themselves, for if they were, they would know that their plan won’t
work. The wheat and weeds will grow up
together. At harvest time, separating the
weeds and wheat is a nuisance, but the harvest is not lost. The plan will not work, unless…
The
plan will work if the planter over-reacts to his would-be saboteurs. If he has his servants remove the weeds
before harvest time, at least some of the wheat will be lost. Jesus is saying that the kingdom is like a
seed-planter who doesn’t over-react when enemies try to disrupt good
growth. Instead of getting “triggered”
by the enemies, the kingdom remains focused on the good growth, not the
activity of the enemies’ schemes, for those schemes will come to nothing more
than a nuisance at harvest time. Preserving
the harvest is the focus, not reacting to enemies.
This
wisdom is easier to explain than it is to live out. When someone seems to be trying to sabotage
us, our outrage and frustration often drive our response. We often get distracted by a desire to “undo”
the work of our enemies instead of remaining focused on the good work we’re
called to do. But if we can resist
getting triggered, the results of our good work will lead to good results while
the work of those who would see us fail will come to nothing useful. The “wheat and the weeds” will be seen for
what they are. The vindication is the
harvest, but that vindication never comes if we allow ourselves to get
triggered.
Almost
all the time, when we’re doing something good, there will be “weeds.” Just accept that now, so when the weeds start
shooting up, we won’t overreact. We can acknowledge
the weeds while remaining committed to helping the intended crop grow. If we get triggered and “pull up the weeds,”
the enemies win and our good work suffers.
The kingdom is like a good (and patient) seed planter.
Questions: When was
the last time you got “triggered” by some resistance to something good you were
trying to do? How did you reaction
affect the result?
Prayer: God, your
call is to plant the seeds of the kingdom, not to pull weeds. Help us live out this wisdom in our daily
lives. Help us be aware of our “triggers”
so we can avoid getting distracted by our enemies. Amen.
Prayer Focus: Today
is All Saints Day. Spend some time
thanking God for the people who are in heaven who helped you have the faith you
have today.
Song: Visiting Hours –
Ed Sheeran
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