An old Native American tale recounts the story of a chief who was telling a gathering of young braves about the struggle within. “It is like two dogs fighting inside of us,” the chief told them. “There is one good dog who wants to do what’s right and the other dog always wants to do what’s wrong. Sometimes the good dog seems stronger and is winning the fight. But sometimes the bad dog is stronger and wrong is winning the fight.” “Who is going to win in the end?” a young brave asks. The chief answered, “The one you feed.”
As we look at our lives, we Christians may be inadvertently feeding the wrong dog. The chilling reality is that we can become just another statistic, succumbing to the deadly combination of selfishness, materialism, and greed that only hurts marriages, families, and finally souls.
Skewed priorities yield a harvest of broken dreams and anguished hearts. Jesus’ parable illustrates the sad consequences of distorted priorities. As we listen to our Savior today, may our prayer be this: LORD, SPARE US FROM SKEWED PRIORITIES so that: 1) we grasp the Word, and 2) we grow in faith.
1) We Grasp the Word
Jesus’ parable of the farmer illustrates the sad consequences of skewed priorities. He says, “A farmer went out to sow his seed. As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up.” Now, the seed, as Jesus tells us later on, is “the message about the kingdom” (Matthew 13:19). In spite the farmer’s best skill and efforts, not all the seed would end up in a prime location. Some would fall on the trampled down soil-path.
“I’m not interested in anything religious,” a lady said politely but firmly when offered an invitation to our Christmas service. The beautiful home, the finely manicured lawn, and the luxury care in the driveway all revealed where her true priorities were. Those things were all that life seemed to be about for her. She had no time or need for “religion.” Maybe somebody said or did something that turned her off, but the sad result is that she hardened her heart. She made the conscious effort to be unreceptive.
Lest we become smug, know that we are not above this problem. Even Jesus’ own disciples struggled with rock-hard hearts. Time and again, they missed the spiritual truths of Jesus’ teaching. At one point, Jesus asked, “Are your hearts hardened? Do you have eyes but fail to see and hearts but fail to hear?”
Slowness and hardness of heart are terrible spiritual “soil conditions.” And we aren’t above the problem. Sin, doubts, and unbelief constantly trample our hearts and threaten to keep our faith from growing. I know there are time when we feel that God has left us on the “hard pavement of life” only to be devoured by the circling crows. This life is not fair. It can be an awful experience as the clock ticks from one miserable second to the next, and we’re tempted to block God out of our lives.
The truth is that only Christ can help us in our stubborn unbelief. The gospel reminds us that Jesus has remedied our sins and failures. The sins of our past need not haunt us any longer. Christ has won forgiveness for them. They are washed away. Satan knows the gospel’s power and doesn’t want to give it a chance to work, so he will send his carrion crows of doubt and guilt to peck away at us, threatening us to put up our defenses and to harden our hearts. Christ has put a scarecrow in our lives to frighten away those predators. It’s the cross. Satan knows he’s conquered. He doesn’t want us to believe it, though. Look to the cross and see you are forgiven. Trust in Jesus and Satan will have to flee from you.
Jesus loves you and he promises never to leave you or forsake you. Jesus promises to walk with us through this life – through its sorrows and joys. And he promises to use whatever comes our way for our eternal good.
Jesus continues, “Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow. But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root.” In certain places in the farmer’s field a layer of rock lay close to the surface. Topsoil covered the rocks and offered a fertile and warm bed for the seed to quickly sprout up. The little plants couldn’t sink roots into the soil, and so the plant was doomed when the blazing sun beat down on it.
Jesus explains the spiritual counterpoint for us. He says, “The seed that fell on the rocky places is the man who hears the word and at once receives it with joy. But since he has no root, he lasts only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, he quickly falls away.” I’ve seen it happen too often. Someone hears the gospel for the first time and is excited, joyful and enthusiastic. They enter a Bible class. They are instructed in the Word, but then the instruction period ends and the persecution period begins. And they can’t take the heat – the heat of ridicule, peer pressure, disappointment or disillusionment: “you belong to that church that church that actually believes the Lord’s Supper is real and won’t simply allow just anybody to take it without instruction in the Word,” or “you actually think babies are sinful and need to be baptized?”
Then there’s the hard lesson learned: being a Christian isn’t popular. It’s hard to be a confessional Christian in a pluralistic world that would just as soon water down the Bible so that it says whatever people want it to say, yet, in reality says nothing at all. It’s hard to be a Christian when we have to deal with other Christians. Sometimes, we sin against one another. The main problem with our congregation is the people in the pulpit and the people in the pews. We’re sinful and we sin against one another. If we allow our sins and burdens to consume us, then the faith that once lived, will die just Jesus described in the parable. If we aren’t rooted deep enough in God’s Word and aren’t drawing on his love, then we run the risk of withering away. Plants of faith that lack roots will not survive. We need to be encouraged by God’s Word, which urges us to “grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.” We need to pray for one another and ask God to grant us strength. Such plants of faith will stand up and thrive even in the face of trouble.
Our Savior goes on, “Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and chocked the plants.” Anyone who’s toyed with gardening can appreciate this picture. It’s a constant battle to get out and keep out the weeds! Weeds drain strength from the good plants and can actually grow up, wrap around, and choke them.
What are the weeds in our hearts? So many people are caught up in the daily snares of worry or concern – often over the minor details of this life. The “worry weed” is prominent in our lives. It pops up without notice, is fast growing, and can rob a heart of faith. Did you clear your mind as you came to church this morning? Or are you stewing over what someone said to you before the service? Maybe you’re distracted by what you read in the paper. It could be you’re tired because you chose not to get a good night’s sleep, and now you are struggling just to listen. Your thoughts might be on an ailing friend or family member. Perhaps a financial dilemma occupies your mind. If so, the worry weed has sprung up and looms menacingly over you and threatens to strangle your faith.
Only God’s promises can root the worry weed from our lives. God promised his Son would be our Savior, and he kept his word. Jesus is the author of our salvation. He has worked out our forgiveness. He is also control over all things so that we might be able to remain his children. He alone makes it possible for us to grasp his Word and hold on to it.
2) We Grow in Faith
If you were the farmer in this parable, you might get discouraged. But this farmer, Jesus, found that his work was not in vain: “Still other seed fell on good soil, where it produced a crop – a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown.” I’m sure all of us would hope that this soil represents us. We’re the good soil. But do our priorities in life always reflect that hope? We need to stop and ask: Do our eyes regularly scan the pages of God’s Word? Do we take every opportunity to go to the Lord’s Table to receive strength from his body and blood? Do we take time to talk to our children about things that are important – and equally important -- do we listen? Do we always seek the counsel of our pastor and fellow Christians when faced with challenges? Do our priorities reflect the hope that God’s Word will produce a harvest in our lives?
Before we answer those questions we need to realize that only God can make the heart into good soil for the gospel seed. In fact, God uses the seed of the gospel to change the soil of our hearts. Yes. We realize how our hearts are often hard, shallow and infested with worries. God crushes our hearts. We realize we don’t do the things God expects. Then the gospel seed, packed with the power of God, tells us of a Savior who’s done everything for us. We hear of a love so great it’s hard to imagine. God sent his own “seed”, his only Son, to sacrifice himself for us. That saving love penetrates our hearts and gives new birth to faith and trust. There is a hidden, miraculous power in the seed of God’s Word – the power of love and life!
A healthy plant of faith will grow from the gospel seed and will produce a crop. The crop is the fruit of the Spirit. St. Paul describes the fruit which the Holy Spirit produces through the gospel: “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.” Simply put, the Holy Spirit uses the gospel seed to produce more gospel seed in us. Just as one kernel of corn produces a cob full of corn, so we have more and more gospel seed to sow back into our own heart and into the hearts of our family and life.
The gospel does work. The good message of Christ’s love helps us to avoid skewed priorities, so that we make time to hear Jesus’ words and take them to heart. As Jesus says, “He who has ears, let him hear.” The point is simple. We all have ears, so let’s use them to listen to God’s Word. As we do, God will continue to lead us to prioritize our lives so that we grasp the gospel, grow in our faith, and are motivated to live to his glory. And we won’t feed the wrong dog. Amen.
