(By Jonathan Tuabe) – “Still others, like seed sown among thorns, hear the word; but the worries of life, the deceitfulness of wealth and the desire for other things come in and choke the word, making it unfruitful.”
– Mark 4:18-19
This scripture really struck me as I was reading the Word recently. The quotation is of course from the Parable of the Sower which is well known, and often a subject addressed in sermons and devotionals. I guess the thing that really stood out me about Mark is the fact of how specifically Jesus addresses wealth and the desire for material gain as a main component of the “worries of life” which lead to being unfruitful. I think we usually infer that Jesus is pointing to the fact that the cares of this world being our focus lead the strangling of our faith. But really, I believe that he’s not making a statement concerning our faith, but rather our bearing of fruit. The plants being choked don’t necessarily die, they just don’t bear the fruit they were meant to. They don’t fulfill the purpose they were meant to. Being wealthy doesn’t necessarily need to have any effect on our “faith”, but it can have a huge effect on our fruitfulness. And we’re not called to just believing, but rather to serving our God.
“A good tree produces good fruit, and a bad tree produces bad fruit. A good tree can’t produce bad fruit, and a bad tree can’t produce good fruit. So every tree that does not produce good fruit is chopped down and thrown into the fire. Yes, just as you can identify a tree by its fruit, so you can identify people by their actions.”
– Matthew 7:17-20
We’re called to bear good fruit for the Kingdom, and in doing so, to point to our Heavenly Father and display the qualities which he has shown to us. Qualities like a love of mercy, a zeal for justice, rich compassion and love. But how often are we distracted by our wealth? Or our jobs? Or even our desire for more? And can we compare that to how often we see the Fruit of the Spirit displayed in our lives? And more importantly, how often others are seeing the Fruit of God’s Holy Spirit in us? Is there a disconnect there in your life?
I can clearly see in my own life how my wealth, and my desire for material things clouds my focus on “Your kingdom come” and gets in the way of my bearing of fruit. If gone unnoticed or ignored, it can become a trap for any of us.
I am reminded today that Jesus said, “Anyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice…” (Matt. 7:24).
I’m still just working through this in my life, but it seems clear to me that we are not judged solely on our belief. We must be working each day for His Kingdom, bearing fruit for His glory. Anything that becomes a hindrance must be cast off, be it sin, or maybe just too much stuff.