Titus 2 Men And Women

Weeds and sin have a lot in common. Weeds, like sin, serve no useful purpose in our lives. As a matter of fact, like sin, weeds down right stink.

Weeds, like sin, need to be plucked up continually. It seems that as soon as one weed or sin is pulled there’s another one to take its place. Weeds and sins must be plucked up by their entire roots. If you leave even a tiny offshoot, those weeds and sins are ready to sprout at a moment’s notice. Just when you think you’ve completely gotten rid of that weed or sin forever, one day you take a look, and there is a tiny shoot springing up. Hebrews 12:15 “Looking diligently lest any man fail of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up trouble you, and thereby many be defiled.”

Just as many weeds trouble you, sin also produces a lot of trouble. One year, out of the clear blue, I developed hay fever. I had no idea what was wrong with me, so I treated my ailments as if I had the flu. My many home remedies did not work, and by the time I went to the doctor, my throat was so sore and swollen that I couldn’t swallow without crying. When the doctor told me that I had hay fever, I made the statement that I had been thinking it was something really serious since I was in so much pain. The doctor proceeded to tell me that if hay fever is left without proper treatment a person could die. Ragweed could have killed me just like sin can kill a person if it’s left to run its course. Ragweed had invaded my body and proceeded to wear me down. Sin invades our bodies and proceeds to wear us down also. The allergies I contracted from ragweed return year after year. Sometimes I still forget the reason why I am so run down and achy until I go to the doctor again. I have learned through him that my allergies have now reached the early stages of asthma. Why do I forget, after all these years, that I have allergies? It’s because I do not have the symptoms continually. Sin creeps into our lives again and again, but somehow we seem to forget how it wants to attack and destroy us.

Weeds and sin both come in various forms. Some weeds look almost like real, eatable plants. Upon close examination, however, we soon find out that they are not. Some of these weeds are poisonous. Sins sometimes don’t seem as bad to us as they really are, especially if they are “our” sins. The sin of pride, for instance, may cause us to work like a horse doing Christian service, but upon close examination, we find that we have not been serving because we love our Lord. We have actually been serving for the praise of men.

Weeds absorb all the nutrients from the ground around them. Weeds choke and stifle the intended plants, and keep them from reaching their full potential. Weeds will suffocate the good plants and take over our gardens if left unattended. Similarly, sin will absorb all the nutrients God has intended for our lives. Luke 8:14 “And that which fell among thorns are they, which, when they have heard, go forth, and are choked with cares and riches and pleasures of this life, and bring no fruit to perfection." Weeds need the same nutrients out of the ground that fruitful plants need. Therefore, weeds and good plants cannot thrive together.  If we let a weed grow in our garden, we will soon find it becoming huge as it grows beside a weakly plant that is barely surviving. A weed and a plant cannot both survive in the same spot. One must be eradicated. Sin and holiness cannot occupy the same body.  Sin uses up all the nutrients we are being fed from Gods’ Word.  Sin stifles our spiritual growth and will take away our peace and joy if left unattended.

The best time to pull weeds is right after a good, saturating rain.  After the rain has loosened the ground around the weeds, most weeds can easily be plucked up, roots and all. The best time to get rid of sin is immediately, but the easiest time is after our hearts have been saturated by hearing God’s truth concerning our sin and when our eyes have been opened to how filthy and destructive sin has become in our lives.

Sin, like weeds, will continue to pop up in our lives. Usually it’s not the same sin or the same kind of weed that crop up again and again. We can usually spot the same kind of weed once we’ve recognized it for what it is. This is true of our sins. Once we’ve recognized a certain sin in our lives, we are able to see it for what it is when it tries to rear its ugly head again.  This enables us to cut it out right away. The weeds and sins that are new and different are what can cause us problems until we are able to recognize them for what they really are.

Have you ever been fooled by a weed? I have. I have seen what I thought were beautiful flowers growing out in the wild. A closer look and smell soon proved those beautiful “flowers” were, in reality, adorning an odious weed. When I reached down to pluck one of the “flowers,” the stem had tiny, unseen stickers, which pricked into my skin, causing it to burn and itch. This was not a flower but a thistle-a weed. Upon first glance, my eyes were deceived, but I soon found out when I reached for this flower what its true character was.

At first glance, sin, like a flowering weed, looks pretty good. We see others who seem to be having such a great time participating in it.  At a distance, their lives look pretty exciting and ours look pretty dull. We see “party time” with fancy clothes, beautiful hairdos, and hilarious laughter going on. This attracts our attention like a pretty flower. This makes our lives seem like we are missing some petals in comparison to theirs. If we could get a closer look into the lives of these pleasure seekers, I know, from experience, we would see the ugly scars sin leaves behind.  Hebrews 11:25 “... than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season.” Whenever sin tempts us we should go to Psalms 73 and see the final results of sin. Sin, like the thistle, has an outward attraction, but when we take hold of sin it pricks.

In order for us to grow spiritually, sin must be rooted out. Great! How do we go about doing this? First of all, we must be able to recognize it in our lives when its ugly head pops up. How can we recognize sin? We recognize it in the same way that we would recognize what weeds are. There are encyclopedias that contain photos of and various information about weeds. There are also experts on the subject of weeds, and they can share with us the different varieties of weeds and inform us of the damage each can do. Many of us have been taught how to spot poison ivy by the shape and number of leaves by another individual who had that knowledge. The same principle applies to identifying sin. We have a Holy Bible which gives us detailed information about sin and its consequences.  We also have many spiritual experts who can help us spot sin when we encounter it.  Proverbs 19:20-21 “Hear counsel, and receive instruction, that thou mayest be wise in thy latter end. There are many devices in a man’s heart; nevertheless the counsel of the Lord, that shall stand.”

Here’s one last thought on the subject of weeds and sin. Have you ever noticed that, just when you think you have gotten rid of all of your weeds, low and behold, another weed pops up? “Selah”

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