‘I passed by the field of the sluggard and by the vineyard of the man lacking sense, and behold, it was completely overgrown with thistles; its surface was covered with nettles, and its stone wall was broken down. When I saw, I reflected upon it; I looked, and received instruction. “A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest,” then poverty will come as a robber and your want like an armed man.’ Proverbs 24:30-34 (NASB)
The sluggard in this passage walked away from his discipline in cleaning and keeping up with his field. Because of this, many thorns, thistles and nettles came to the surface, choking up the good soil underneath. His walls were also broken allowing the enemy to have an advantage over him. How many times has this happened to us? Maybe this is something we are still dealing with. Are we slacking in our spiritual disciplines? Are we allowing the cares and prosperity of the world to steal the true, living word of God in our hearts?
Personal story here…I hate gardening, with a passion. I am horrible at it and the weeds in our front flower bed have a love/hate relationship with me. When I can’t stand seeing the weeds grow taller than me, I will eventually pull them. It has gotten so bad that now we hire someone to do this for us. Why hire out something I should do on my own? Why depend on someone else to do my dirty work so to speak? But the bigger question is why am I allowing these weeds to grow at all, take root and block me from the things of God? My front flower bed can represent, at times, my own spiritual life. If I’m not careful, I will rely on others to grow me spiritually when that responsibility is mainly mine. Are we letting the weeds grow or are we facing those weeds and taking care of what needs to be pulled, trimmed, and cleaned in our own flower bed? Hopefully we are taking that responsibility.
If anyone out there likes the “simple days” you must have watched the ‘Andy Griffith Show.’ My husband still watches it regularly. One of the characters in the show was named Barney Fife. Barney has a familiar saying, “you gotta nip it, nip it in the bud.” Going back to our weeds again, when we see those little critters take root, we need to "nip" them immediately before they grow and take away what God has planted in us.
As always, I’m learning right there with ya.
Thankful for His Grace,
Amy
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