The Parable of the Wheat and Tares

^{The Parable of the Wheat and Tares aka The Parable of the Weeds}

Jesus told them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field. But while everyone was sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat, and went away. When the wheat sprouted and formed heads, then the weeds also appeared. The owner’s servants came to him and said, ‘Sir, didn’t you sow good seed in your field? Where then did the weeds come from?’ ‘An enemy did this,’ he replied. The servants asked him, ‘Do you want us to go and pull them up?’ ‘No,’ he answered, ‘because while you are pulling the weeds, you may uproot the wheat with them. Let both grow together until the harvest. At that time I will tell the harvesters: First collect the weeds and tie them in bundles to be burned; then gather the wheat and bring it into my barn.’

As I was reading through the New Testament, I came across this parable. I found it very interesting in light of my last few months. Jesus seems to be comparing this field with a false belief system. There is some truth there, but some untruths, some harmful components. Wheat and weeds. Jesus seems to be saying that harm can be done if the weeds are pulled out before the crop is mature. 

I like to garden. There have been times when I have thought I should just leave the weeds in my garden. My crops will be stronger as they overcome the weeds and the harvest will be the same. When weeds are pulled, especially if they are as big or bigger than the crops, sometimes they take the crops out with them. However, if I leave the weeds, sometimes they kill the crops by becoming stronger and bigger, shading out my plants and stealing nutrients. Some weeds even look like the crops I want to keep, especially when they are small. When you pull the weeds, there is a risk to pulling out good crops, as they grow close together, sometimes even entangling themselves with one another. One might even come to think that the weed is necessary for the crop's survival.

When the weeds are removed, the crop is spindly and weak. We see the bare dirt and think of all we have lost. It takes time for the garden to recover, for the good plants to grow and flourish. We have to give them care and nourishment.They will recover, and when they do, they will be stronger than ever before.

In my life's garden, I would much rather pull my weeds out when I recognize them as such. I don't like to live with weeds in my life. Sometimes raw truth hurts. It can seem to turn the world upside down. I have been hurt by the truth, because it was not what I thought it was. It was disguised, but in the long run, truth does much more good than bad. 

It's much more difficult to know what to do when it comes to other people. Sometimes weeds masquerade as good crops. We can be fooled into thinking that weeds will bring forth good fruit. When somebody points out that our prize crop of thorns will never bring forth roses, will we be angry or grateful that we don't have to waste time any longer on things that are worthless? Between spending time on false crops and feeling the emptiness of bare ground when the weeds are removed, there can be a lot of pain associated with cleaning up a garden. When you see your friends and family spending time nurturing weeds while their true crops could be so much bigger and brighter, what do you do? Will they appreciate you telling them they are wrong, or will they just get angry and continue in their delusions?

I think in this parable, Jesus is telling us that many people are not ready to see the weeds for what they are. He is saying it will do harm to remove the weeds before the people tending them are ready to recognize them. I can see his point.

Yet, as my garden grows with a lot less weeds and masquerading crops in it, I can see the bare spots begin to fill in. I can see the beauty of my garden develop. I can take the time to examine new weeds and recognize old weeds for what they are and remove them from my garden. I want that for my loved ones, I want to tell them about the weeds I am learning about. I want them to be able to pull them from their gardens, too. Alas, it seems I have to be careful. I have to check to see I am not offending them. I have to make sure I don't suggest their prize thorn-bush will not bring forth the expected roses. As much as I hate watching them waste time nourishing their cherished weeds, I cannot remove the delusion from them. Chances are, if I tried, they would hate me and think me a liar. I have to wait until they start seeing their own weeds for what they are, before I can give them the hope I have, that it's ok to get rid of their weeds, and reassure them that they still have crops in there that will continue to grow and mature.

The teachings of Jesus Christ

Jesus Christ is the one Christians look to for the basis of their faith. We've all seen the WWJD jewelry to remind us to behave like Jesus, or for Mormons, the CTR jewelry, reminding us to Choose the Right like Jesus would want us to. The whole of western religion is built upon this deified man who lived two thousand years ago, yet there are only three small books in scripture that deal exclusively with the life of Jesus-- and much of that on deifying him. The life of this man has influenced countless lives, yet most boil it down to being "good" and loving each other. Is this all there is to it, or is there something more. Since I couldn't think of anything beyond that, I decided to go through the new testament and see what I could find from what Jesus taught. Here are my findings:

These are good things I believe can we learn from Jesus:

Love yourself.

• Education is important (Matthew 4:4)
• Don't do stupid things (self-harm), even if you believe you are invincible. (Matthew 4:5-7, Luke 4:9-12)
• Be true to yourself. Don't sell your convictions for money, treasure, or power. (Matthew 4: 8-10, Luke 4:6-8)
• Have empathy, kindness, and seek to be better. (Matthew 5:3-11)
• Don't hide the good that is in you. It brings variety and joy to the lives of those around you. (Matthew 5:13-16; Matthew 25:14-28)
• Be questioning. Search for answers. (Matthew 7:7-8)
• Don't dwell in the past. (Matthew 8:18-22)
• Be teachable. (Matthew 13:1-9; Mark 4:2-8; Luke 8:4-8)

Love others

• Don't be angry with people. If you have a disagreement, make up quickly before there are bad consequences. (Matthew 5:21-26)
• Don't judge others. (Matthew 7:1-6; Luke 6:37)
• Do to others as you would have them do to you. (Matthew 7:9-12)
• Relationships with other humans can be stronger than family ties. (Matthew 12:46-50; Mark 3:33-34)
• Watch what you say! Only good things should come out of your mouth. (Matthew 15:11, Mark 7:15)
•  Forgive always. (Matthew 18:21-22) [It is good for the peace of your being to not hold grudges. This does not mean you should let people abuse you or take advantage of you. It is possible to forgive without allowing situations to repeat.] 
• Divorce is bad. (Matthew 19:1-12, Mark 10:1-12) [Ok, so in general, divorce is certainly not ideal, but there are many reasons it can be right for a couple. I think the point here is not to take your marriage covenants lightly.]
• Don't dwell on what others get. Life is not fair. (Matthew 20:1-16)
• Importance is gained by what you give others. Serve others. (Matthew 20:24-28)
• Take care of the people around you. (Matthew 25:31-45) [This should not mean to give to others to the point of your own impoverishment.]

Hate hypocrisy.

• Don't brag about being good. (Matthew 6:1-18)
• Don't believe flatterers. Observe their "fruit" to know if they are good people. (Matthew 7:15-20, Luke 6:43-45)
• Tell the truth. Do what you say you will do. (Matthew 21:28-31)
• Only teach what you, yourself, live. (Matthew 23:1-12)

 Teachings of Jesus I cannot agree with:

• Thoughts are as bad as actions. (Matthew 5:27-30) [Actually murdering somebody or committing adultery are way worse than just thinking about it. That said, however, it's probably a good thing to not let our thoughts/fantasies get the better of us. A stray thought isn't bad. Dwelling on certain thoughts can be bad for you psychologically, though, and might lead to the committing into action of those thoughts.]
• Let people take advantage of you. (Matthew 5:38-42; Luke 6:34) [What? No. Not good. Being a doormat only makes you a target for people without scruples. Bad advice.]
• Love your enemies. (Matthew 5:43-48; Luke 6:27-36) [How about, "don't hold grudges"? Loving enemies would entail double think and cognitive dissonance. No, thank you!]
• Don't save money or dwell on its existence. In fact get rid of any material thing you have accumulated. God will take care of you. (Matthew 6:19-34; Matthew 19:16-30; Mark: 12:41-44; Luke 12:13-34) [This is just stupid. Save for a rainy day. Enjoy wealth, if you have it. Help others with your money, if you desire. If you don't have money, well sure, don't spend your strength worrying about it when you can (or can't) do something about it. Maybe this is just Jesus' way of trying to dispel worry and take a jab at rich people at the same time.]
• Love God with your whole might, soul, and mind. Love your neighbor as yourself. (Matthew 37-40, Mark 12:28-34; Luke 10:27) [I give love to those who are worthy of my love. It is a waste of energy and heart to do otherwise. I cannot love a God who I do not know even exists, and if he does exist, does not manifest himself to me. Also, as far as loving my neighbor as myself, sorry, but that is just not feasible. It would entail all sorts of psychological intricacies I cannot begin to deal with. I can, however, accept being kind to those around me.] 
• Be a pacifist. (Matthew 26:52) [I believe you should defend yourself and your loved ones even unto death.] 
• Be like a child. (Mark 10:13-16) [I can understand how people interpret this to mean " be humble" and "be teachable" and "be forgiving". I believe we should always be advancing. We are constantly growing in our understanding, and that is a good thing. We should not be gullible and always believing as a child is. We learn as we develop, and that should never be discarded. It is best to be ourselves and not childish.] 
  
• You can do anything if you just believe. (recurrent theme) [While having positive thoughts can be important, you can NOT do anything just by believing.]
• The "kingdom of heaven" is worth giving up everything for. (recurrent theme) [Not for me.]