Weeding Out Sins in My Personal Life
It’s that time of year again; the dandelions are growing at warp speed. I just got in from removing the first patch of them. Here’s how the process goes: I select my victim, kneel next to it with my weapon, the “dandelion plucker” gather the leaves in one hand and poke the tool into the ground next to the center of the weed. The tool loosens the soil so I can easily pull the entire plant out, root and all.
Some are large, have many leaves, flowers, and a long, deep, thick root. They are really hard to remove, I loosen the dirt all around them and sometimes, I can’t find the end to the root. I just break it off as deep as I can. I know they’re not gone, that root will allow them to re-grow. Some have a few leaves and a long thin root; they are removed without much difficulty. The easiest are the ones that have just started; they don’t have much of a root. I just stick the plucker next to them and with a little pry motion, the entire plant is removed. God showed me how this process is just like my spiritual life.
The lawn is my spiritual life, and the dandelions are my sins. Some sins have a long, thick root; they’ve been around for a while and aren’t easily removed. They’re ones God has been trying to show me. But, I’ve ignored, stuffed and decided that I would deal with them “later“. The longer I put off having to die to things in my life, the longer and thicker their root gets. When I do deal with them, it doesn’t happen easily, it comes with much pain and resistance; and they may not be completely gone. Sometimes I think I got the entire root out, it turns out that I didn’t; pretty soon, here it is again, stronger than ever. God knows the right time to work on my problems and He provides the grace and strength for me to withstand the consequences. I need to learn to walk through the issues with God as He brings them to my attention.
The medium weeds are not as painful or as difficult to remove. The easiest are the tiny ones; I just pluck them right out of my life before they take root. I am assured that they are not going to “grow back” to be dealt with again. It’s funny how the weeds spread, I have a few and if I don’t deal with them, I have dozens, and if I don’t deal with them, they will take over my lawn.
Why don’t I monitor my spiritual life like I do my lawn? Regularly I grab my weed tool and walk around my yard looking for a sign of those nasty weeds to poke their head up. I should be as diligent with my spiritual life. The Bible tells us to “Be well balanced (temperate, sober of mind), be vigilant and cautious at all times; for that enemy of yours, the devil, roams around like a lion roaring (in fierce hunger), seeking someone to seize upon and devour. Withstand him; be firm in faith (against his onset…)” I Peter 5:8-9. Life is easier when I am obedient to God and resist things in my life at their onset, when they are still small, before they find a way to attach themselves to me.