Picking Weeds

When my children were little (and I was much more industrious!) we would plant a huge garden every spring. It was usually far bigger than we needed, but we had all this land...

They were thrilled to help me plant the seeds, cover them with dirt, and drown them with water. They were not so thrilled with learning to pick weeds.

But as I explained year after year, if we don't get all the weeds out, the baby plants won't get what they need from the soil and they'll die or not produce any vegetables.

The biggest challenge was teaching five-year-olds to know the difference between a weed and a vegetable sprout. I could have focused on all the weeds they were sure to encounter, shown them what the leaves looked like, and taught them their names.

But I learned quickly that it was far more efficient to simply teach them what the good plants looked like. Once those baby fingers had stroked a feathery carrot top, a rough tomato leaf, or the smooth outer shell of a lettuce plant they remembered. If a sprout didn't look just like the real thing, it was a weed.

We are inundated today with great-sounding philosophies, enlightened ideas, and worldviews that appear very similar to ours--yet, something isn't quite right. It's easy to get confused. But just as my toddlers learned how to spot a good plant by learning all about it, we too need to keep our focus on what is absolute, unchanging truth.

We cannot possibly predict the next seductive trend or so-called "scientific" finding that supposedly disproves God's word. If we focus on the latest heresy and try to dissect it, understand it, or give it credence we lose sight of what's real. And soon we're tossing good plants out rather than weeds.

Keep your eyes on God's unchanging truth. Reality is whatever He says it is. Learn His ways, His commands, His values. When you're grounded in the Word of God, it doesn't matter what pretty little idea pops up beside you. You can spot it for what it is.

No matter what intelligent-sounding dogma filters your way, become a five-year-old in the garden. If it's not the Truth you've learned from God, it's a weed. Toss it!

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