I have this conflicting relationship with weeds. This summer I bare-knuckle wrestled deep-rooted dandelions from our yard—our lush, barefoot-begging backyard splotched with what looked like yellow chicken pox. I tried spraying them with Round-Up last year, only to discover that I killed the nearby grass roots along with the weeds. Now random bare patches remind me of a costly win in this on-going battle.
But then this is my conflict. As we drive by fields of much kinder dandelions (these are not in my yard), I tell the kids that tomorrow I will bring my camera for a family picture with them lying in the sea of vibrant yellow. Last year, we actually paid someone good money for a family portrait of us standing in front of six-foot weeds at dusk—it’s the most complimented photo on display in our house.
Sometimes weeds and flowers can look so similar. My apologies go out to my neighbors who endured the daisy-looking weeds nestled up to my real daises. It took me awhile to notice the difference.
And maybe that’s partially why weeds are associated with what is unholy in Scripture.
At first glance, the weed often looks like the flower. What is wrong can sometimes appear similar to the good and beautiful. Isaiah wrote, “Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter” (Isaiah 5:20).
It can be difficult to know the difference between variants of good and evil without the defining guidance of Scripture. Psalm 1 indicates that the righteous person meditates day and night on God’s instruction. Paul writes for us to “be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will” (Romans 12:1-2).
In some ways God’s Word could be considered the Master Gardener’s Guide to identifying weeds and flowers. Our minds incline themselves to self-gratifying options unless they are renewed with the truth. The best way for me to bare-knuckle wrestle any sin out of my life is to first know how to identify it. Before it multiplies.
How quickly sin can spread throughout every corner of our lives. We think we have what we consider a small indulgence under control, until we realize it’s changed the landscape of our hearts. Our good desires become crowded out and overrun by unruly and unholy longings.
I’ve had several people remind me of the definition of a weed—anything you don’t want. Spiritually, sin is anything God doesn’t want in my life. If I want Him to cultivate in my heart His goodness, truth, and love, then I need to yield to Him as the Gardener of my soul. David cried out to God in Psalm 51:10, “Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.” Ezekiel spoke of God replacing our hearts of stone with hearts of flesh. God then said, “I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws” (Ezekiel 36:26-27).
Ultimately it will be God who masterfully removes the deep-rooted weeds of selfishness in me and creates a venue of love and grace. He will create a heart within us filled with the beauty of His love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.
But God also asks us to do our part. He calls us to be holy as He is holy (Leviticus 11:44). At some point we have to reconcile our conflicting relationship with sin. We can continue to settle for counterfeits of God’s goodness, like giving others self-serving love instead of costly, self-sacrificing love. Or, we can prayerfully uproot the destructive weeds in our hearts and replace them with beautiful bouquets of God’s grace.
