Mrs. Greenjeans

Right out of the gate I'm going to tell you what I call my wife, Carolyn: Mrs. Greenjeans. I know that dates me because many of you probably remember who MR. Greenjeans was. I call her that because she's happiest when she's out working in her garden and generally growing stuff.

And yesterday was a big outdoorsy day at the Covey ranchero. We had a tree removed, cacti being chopped and weed pulling all going on at the same time. Maybe in a later editorial I'll use trees and cacti as a basis for a lesson, but today I'm going to use "weeds" because they fit so well with passages in the Bible. And, in so doing, they provide me with inspiration for a "spiritual" lesson.

The weed-pulling came about because I discovered a lot of them growing in Carolyn's asparagus garden. I mentioned to her that they needed to be removed post haste. I explained to her that they might be nice and green and maybe even look attractive BUT, they are still weeds and weeds are BAD. Allow me to elucidate (I like big words) further.

Most all counties in the U.S. have a department that deals exclusively with "weeds." Our own Sister Brown used to work for the county "Weed Abatement" department. In plain language, that department exists to "get rid of weeds." Why, you may ask, does the county government seem so concerned with "weeds?" Well, it's because they are "noxious." More on this in a moment.

I have a friend in Wyoming who is the head of the county "Noxious Weed Department" and his main job is to identify and remove any "noxious weed" found growing there. Plus, try and keep out any from coming into his area. Now lets go back to the word "noxious" and look at the various definitions of that word. (It even sounds bad to me.)

Any good dictionary will tell you that "noxious" means: "harmful - injurious - hurtful - unwholesome - unhealthy - detrimental and, to use another big word - deleterious." Of course we're first connecting these definitions to "plants" but, can't we see the Church and society, in allegory, as "plants?" Christ seemed to think so because he used them several times in parable form to teach spiritual lessons, so I think it's possible and I'm going to attempt to do the same.

In the parables Christ told about the "Sower" (Mt. 13:3-23), the "Tares" (Mt. 13:24-30) and the "Seed" in Mark 4:26-29 He related "plants" to the Church - to Christians. I'm going to throw in society in general too. So let's just look for a few moments at both the Church and society as "plants." The "good" kind.

You know, both God's Word and the government's word recognize BAD plants. I think we'll see just why they're "noxious" to both entities, the Church and society. And the "why" directly relates to both because if we can understand why weeds are bad for plants, then we can understand why they are bad for people.

Weeds are classified as "noxious" because they take moisture and nutrients from the soil faster than the "good plants." In effect, weeds "choke" out the good plants. It's why they are "detrimental, injurious and harmful." If we can picture how they affect the good plants, then we can easily see the allegory-type lesson to us. IE: the effect on our two entities; the "good" people (Christians) and our society too. Jesus Himself said that the "good plants/seed" were the "Children of the Kingdom."   And, wouldn't you agree that we have "weeds/tares" in our society too?

You see, when you apply the definitions of "noxious" to the people side of our equation today, then we see how "harmful (morally), injurious (physically and spiritually) the weeds that dwell among us are to us. How "unhealthy" they are to both our physical bodies and our souls.

Yes, the weeds among us cause many problems. We could even say that they are very "deleterious" to the well-being of society and the well-being of the "Children of the kingdom." Let's wrap up the rest of this lesson by looking at weeds and their effect in the spiritual sense.

In the parable of the "Tares" we see what Christ called the "weeds" - the "Children of the wicked one." And, we also see who "sows" the "weed seeds." Who likes to cause harm and injury to the "Children of the Kingdom." According to Christ, the "sower" of the "weeds" is the "enemy" of the "farmer"- God. In Matthew 13:39 He identifies this "enemy" as being, none other than, "the devil."

Why do you think "the devil" (Satan) likes having his "weeds" among us? It's because he wants to "choke" us out. Think about it. If he can "choke out" the "good plants," the righteous, then "The Word" would be "choked out." We know, from The Word, that this won't totally work, but we also know from The Word that he and his "weeds" will take a lot of "good plants" with them to the "burn pile." (Matt. 13:30) Just to add clarity and emphasis to this thought, read with me what Christ says in John 15:6 "If anyone does not abide in me he is thrown away like a branch and withers; and the branches are gathered, thrown into the fire and burned."

I've cited these closing words to you before, but they are so great and so applicable to our lesson that it certainly doesn't hurt to read them again. It's the words of a Judge, said to the defendant appearing before him during sentencing. I love them.                                        He told the defendant:

        "You are nothing but a weed, a weed among wheat. And when we have a weed, it's my job to eradicate the weed, because if I don't, you will choke the wheat. Therefore, I'm going to take you off the streets for just as long as I possibly can."

The lesson to us: we need to be vigilant and watch for the "weeds" among us. When we spot one in our lives, we need to eradicate it before it "chokes" out our righteousness and we become a "branch that's thrown into the fire and burned" along with the other "weeds" and their "sower."

Ron Covey