I’ve looked forward to summer for several reasons.
I want to do some reading, writing, spend quality time with some good friends and family, watch some videos, and work on whittling down my honey-do list.
To be fair and honest, once May rolls around it’s hard to stay on top of things around here because there is too much to do and too little time.
There are always some things you have to do, like laundry, dishes, cutting the grass and basic cleaning, so it’s easy to overlook some other things.
It’s even easier if its things you really don’t like to do anyway. Take weeding. I love to plant things and watch things grow. I enjoy both the flower and vegetable gardens, but I really don’t like doing the weeding. The other problem is I’m not a major fan of weed killers either. While I will spray them from time-to-time, often I wait until the weed is so large that I later have to pull it up, otherwise we would have a big dead weed right in the middle of things.
Last week I had to do some weeding. The vegetable garden was growing tons of weeds and the flower beds were in dire need, too. I had sprayed some weed killer to kill the Bermuda grass, but we still needed to pull it up before putting down some fresh mulch. My wife and I pulled more weeds than I care to count, but both the flower and vegetable gardens look so much better.
I know if I will work just a little every couple of days I can keep the weed population down. I am not sure why I resist and dislike that work so much. I would like to think it’s not laziness because I do work hard around here at so many different things.
Whatever the reason, weeds grow, and every once in a while, I do battle against them.
I am afraid to think about the fact that weeds have a tendency to grow in other areas of my life, too. I’m thinking spiritually. There are times in my life of great spiritual discipline where weeds are both unwelcome and disposed of promptly. Then there are times when my guard is down and the weed seeds blow into my life and find places to take root and grow.
What are spiritual weeds? I believe they are anything in our lives that take up our energy that can be used to serve God. By that definition there are all kinds of things that can get in our way of serving God. It’s not limited to sinful things. We can actually be doing “good” things, but if they are not what God wants us to do, then they are weeds.
The sinful weeds we all know and recognize in our lives. We all struggle with sin, but the truth is sometimes we let sinful weeds grow without hindrance.
Sadly, we may want things in our lives that God finds displeasing. We want those weeds because they make us “feel” good. God wants us to change, but our hearts remain unrepentant. There are consequences to sin, especially unrepentant sin. We need to pull those weeds.Next we have the weeds that we really don’t see as bad because they aren’t sinful. They seem harmless.
There is nothing wrong with playing video games, watching videos, surfing the net, or enjoying some of our favorite foods. However, if God wants us to stop doing some of our favorite time wasters and start doing something for his kingdom, then those activities become weeds. They are keeping us from God’s purposes.
The most difficult weed to identify in our spiritual gardens is the good things we do for others. Some might say it’s always the right thing to do when you can help someone in need. If you are always helping others and neglecting your family then that’s not good. God was upset with the people of Israel when they neglected the temple to do personal things. Our priorities need to be God, our families and then everything else.
I want to encourage you to do some weeding in your spiritual garden. We’ve all got weeds. Some of us have allowed the weeds to choke out the flowers and vegetables God intended to grow in our lives. I know it’s hard work and requires self-discipline, but the potential beauty that lies within our gardens are worth the effort. Go ahead, pull those weeds. Experience renewal and be productive.
Doug Creamer teaches marketing at East Davidson High School. His Web site is www.dougcreamer.com.