“And that which fell among thorns are they, which, when they have heard [the Word], go forth, and are choked with cares and riches and pleasures of this life, and bring no fruit to perfection. But that on the good ground are they, which in an honest and good heart, having heard the word, keep it, and bring forth fruit with patience.”
Luke 8:14-15
When Jesus teaches this parable of the Sower, He addresses what causes people to become unfruitful in the word of God versus those that bear much fruit. In all cases, the people heard the same word. The difference in the results depends upon what is done with the Word they received. In Mathew 13, Jesus speaks about the cases where they never even received the word because the devil stole it before it could take root in their heart. Further in Mathew 13, He describes other cases where trials, persecution, and offense caused them to become unfruitful. However, in the above scripture from Luke 8, Jesus discusses the unfruitfulness that is caused by the cares, riches, and/or pleasures of this life.
There are many distractions that can cause people to lose their focus on the things of God and get off track. The first one Jesus discusses in the above scripture are the cares of the world. The cares might be worries about finances, their children, health concerns or any number of things that can cause fear. This causes the person to focus in on the storms instead of on Jesus and the ability He has given them to speak to the storm and have the victory over it.
In the case of those who are distracted by riches and the pleasures of life, this can be a more subtle form of unfruitfulness. In a society that offers great wealth, comfort and fun, the desire to do fun and exciting things can at times interfere with what we are supposed to be doing in and for the Lord. It’s not necessarily that they are wrong, however they can become a distraction and cause people to lose focus on what is important to God.
An example of this would be an Olympic swimmer. This calling takes a huge commitment on their part. It means that from the time of childhood they begin training, eating, and using their time differently than other children. While they may be able to have an occasional sugary treat, they cannot be like other children who might have it daily. They must completely change their diet to focus on protein, carbs and fats that are healthy and can sustain their intense training schedules to provide endurance and stamina for each week of training. In addition, unlike other children that may be able to play and have fun after school or stay up late at night and sleep in on the weekends, they must instead do intense training after school and often get up early on Saturday morning to train. Instead of sleeping in and watching Saturday morning cartoons, they are swimming rounds of freestyle and doing sit-ups and pullups. Unlike other children that might be able to stay up late, they must get their sleep so that their muscles can rest and rebuild overnight from the intense training of the day. There are many sacrifices an Olympic swimmer must make to get that gold medal.
Like that Olympic gold medalist, God has called His church, the body of Christ to make different choices than the rest of the world. In order to fulfill our high calling, we must say no to the distractions of life and yes to God. We may not be able to watch the same TV and movies that others watch, filling ourselves with “spiritual junk food”. Instead, we may need to eat that nutritious spirit food of praise and worship music and shows that glorify God and edify our spirit. We may not be able to go on every vacation opportunity, party or get together that is presented. Instead, we may need to spend our time in His word, learning God’s way of doing things. We need to do our spiritual work out, building up the muscles of our spirit by praying in the spirit, reading, hearing His Word and putting it into action. Like that Olympic swimmer, at times we may need to get up early. We may need to take that early morning time to pray and intercede to hear from the Lord His directives for our day. We may need to take that time we planned for fun at times to instead help a neighbor or friend in need. God is calling us to focus on His priorities in these perilous times so that we can be a blessing to those around us. Does this mean that we can never do anything fun or go on vacations or watch movies? No, it does not. However, it does mean we need to be precise and selective as to what we spend our time doing if we want to experience the 100-fold fruitfulness in our lives.
In addition to innocent distractions, there are things that the Lord clearly shows are not for the believer in Christ. The Holy Spirit spoke through the Apostle Paul this way about it:
1 Corinthians 10:20-24
But I say, that the things which the Gentiles sacrifice, they sacrifice to devils, and not to God: and I would not that ye should have fellowship with devils. Ye cannot drink the cup of the Lord, and the cup of devils: ye cannot be partakers of the Lord’s table, and of the table of devils. Do we provoke the Lord to jealousy? Are we stronger than He? All things are lawful for me, but all things are not expedient: all things are lawful for me, but all things edify not. Let no man seek his own, but every man another’s wealth.”
In the above scripture, Paul is addressing the debate they were having about whether they could eat meat sacrificed to idols that are sold cheaply in the market. He says if someone is serving them meat, not to ask where it came from, just bless it and eat it. However, if that person goes out of their way to tell them it was sacrificial meat and are boasting about it, then not to eat it for their sake. We need to set a standard in the earth that represents the kingdom of God. For the same reason, that might mean there are certain things we don’t do, such as drink alcohol or smoke or anything else that is not profitable for our bodies or for others. We are not only abstaining from these things for our sake, but for the sake of others. We are setting an example of God’s kingdom in the earth. We are ambassadors for Christ, and as such need to represent His kingdom well.
We are not to be like the world. We are in the world but not of the world. We need to come out and be separate. We need to focus on what God’s high calling is for our lives. Anything that distracts from that calling should be put away.
Let’s put away everything that so easily distracts and run our race with faithfulness and diligence so that we glorify God in all that we do! Ephesians 4:17 -25: “This I say therefore, and testify in the Lord, that ye henceforth walk not as other Gentiles walk, in the vanity of their mind, Having the understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God through the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of heart. Who being past feeling have given themselves over unto lasciviousness, to work all uncleaness with greediness. But ye have not so learned Christ If so be that ye have heard him, and have been taught by him, as the truth is in Jesus. That ye put off concerning the former conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts; And be renewed in the spirit of your mind; And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness. Wherefore putting away lying, speak every man truth with his neighbour: for we are members one of another.”
Let us take time to focus on God’s priorities. Get rid of anything that distracts you from His calling and purpose. Be like that Olympic Swimmer and choose to be great! It may take some sacrifices; however it is well worth the reward. When you are fruitful in the things of God, the reward is greater than anything you could ask or think! You will not only find that you are blessed immeasurably, but you be a blessing to those around you. That blessing will spill over into others’ lives as well as your own!
Further reading: Ephesians 4, Luke 8:1-15, Mathew 13:1-23, Hebrews 12:1-5, Ephesians 3, 2 Corinthians 6:14-18. 1 Peter 1, 2 Corinthians 5
