WORRY CAN CHOKE THE WORD
He also that received seed among the thorns is he that heareth the word; and the care of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, choke the word, and he becometh unfruitful (Matt. 13:22).
Matthew 13:18-23 is the famous passage about the sower and the four kinds of soil. Keep in mind that these all heard the word and responded to it in one way or another. They were not heathens or non-religious people; they actually listened. The one who did not understand may never have become a member of the Lord’s body, but he was with the saints enough to hear God’s word. This man’s mental acuity cannot have been the reason he did not understand, because God has promised that even though someone is a fool, he need not err (Isa. 35:8). Something else had to blind his mind or darken his heart (2 Thess. 2:10-11).
The second and third men understood and obviously accepted what they heard. They became members of the church. Jesus said the second man received the word with joy! He became a babe in Christ (one of the little ones who believed in him) and loved what he heard. However, he was not personally strong enough to hang on when persecution came to him because of the word (Matthew 18:6; Mark 9:42; Luke 17:2). He was offended. That is not like we mostly think of as someone who got his feelings hurt and goes away. This offended means he was trapped or destroyed. His soul was destroyed when the persecution came (Mark 18:14).
The third man (perhaps the most pitiful of all) received the word. He is one of the saints, but the thorns in his life—the cares (and worries) of this world choke out the word and he becomes unfruitful. To “become unfruitful,” implies that this man was once bearing fruit for God and then quit. The thorns in our lives take our time and attention away from the word. How sad that would be to see such a person fall back from his original zeal because the cares and deceitfulness of riches choked the word from his heart.
What happened that this man once loved the Lord and his word and then became unfruitful? We cannot know details other than what has been spoken by Jesus, but all of us have met those who get so busy with their own things that they “just don’t have time” to read or study or dig deeply into the word of God. Their lifestyles drive them to seek more and more things, and their anxiety causes them to focus on the things they are seeking. Their worries all have to do with getting more and more or they may fear losing what they have gained. When they accumulate it all, they worry about how to take care of it and protect it. The normal cares of this life and the man’s desire to be rich deceive him and take his time and attention away from the word of God.
Even though we want to counter the blind, ignorant “feel good religion” of those who listen to the world, we also need to concentrate on encouraging each other to trust God more and to overcome worry in the process. Consider again the fourth man in the parable. “But he that received seed into the good ground is he that heareth the word, and understandeth it; which also beareth fruit, and bringeth forth, some an hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty (Matt. 18:23). We all need to become like this man!
—Beth Johnson