How Does Your Garden Grow? - Spiritual Nugget 83

One day last week, I peered out of my patio window and was shocked by what I saw. The entire back wall of the patio where my flowers were planted had become overflowing with creeping and invasive greens called weeds. Like the invasion of the body snatchers, these weeds surrounded every inch of my flower bed, and some had begun to creep through the patio bricks. The much-needed rain had become the food bank for their birth and survival.
 
I kept thinking that getting rid of these unwanted occupants would not be easy and would require lots of time. Besides being unwanted, they were thieves stealing nutrients from the plant life around them. Some are poisonous, and some cause allergies.
 
Our current world is filled with weeds that invade our soul and spirit, influence our daily thoughts and actions, and steal our joy. Politics, Hollywood, guns, wars, money, environment, daily news, relationships. Why do I identify these accepted societal entities as weeds? Because they invade every aspect of our lives, and in most cases, bring negative consequences or yield rotten fruit.
 
Humanity’s weeds are like a revolving door that just keeps repeating its cycle every time someone enters or exits. The assaulting invaders are the same from the daily news, television, radio, smartphones, and most social media. Despite our dependence, these things are not our friends.
 
Although control and elimination of garden weeds can be challenging, they can be controlled and eliminated with commercial products, or natural, less harmful methods. On the other hand, humanity’s weeds have an indefinite life span and will continue, ad infinitum.
 
With such a bleak prediction, there is always hope for those who put their trust in God. We are His workmanship with our roots in Him, and not in the weeds of the world. Like weeds in a flower garden, humanity’s weeds steal nutrients and choke out life. They also generate fear, worry, depression, uncertainty, and hopelessness. (Mark 4:18)
 
The Apostle Paul reminds us that we should be able to live within this world system with integrity and godly sincerity, but we are never to depend upon the world's standards and secular wisdom. (2 Corinthians 1:12) Humanity’s wisdom is foolishness to God. Alternately, our very survival in this world system is dependent upon God’s grace (undeserved favor).
 
You might want to take a few moments to survey how much light (nutrients) and joy you receive from humanity’s weeds and, remember the value in the dated saying “garbage in garbage out.” Recurring input from humanity’s weeds will guarantee your life garden will be filled with unhealthy, even deadly, rubbish output.
 
One of the recommended methods for managing weeds on your lawn is to “water a lot, water deep” when you water.¹ This applies equally to our spiritual roots.
 
Pursue pathways that deepen your relationship with Christ and generously water your spirit with His presence through prayer, His Word, and His eternal love. Humanity’s weeds will have less opportunity to invade your garden of life.

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¹https://www.homedit.com/creeping-lawn-weeds/