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Jul. 30, 2006
Lessons from Tackweed
What I've Learned About Tackweed
OR
How Tackweed is Like Sin
What
a pretty little plant! Low growing, spreading a mat of tiny, bright
green leaves punctuated by small yellow flowers, and--ouch!! Speaking
of punctuated!
Tackweed, puncture vine, Mexican sandbur,
goathead thorns, bullhead, Texas sandbur. By any name, it is a scourge
to barefeet and bicycle tires and potentially dangerous to livestock.*
(Several symbols are used as footnote markers. Sorry! No superscript
available.)
I've learned a lot about and from tackweed. My first
encounter was outside a fenced yard in a dirt driveway in Ontario,
Oregon. We learned there to carry the kids' bikes to a nearby parking
lot and to never walk outside the yard in bare feet. We also learned it
is almost impossible to eradicate. Then we moved to Tri-Cities,
Washington. Good! Perhaps we left those goathead thorns behind forever.
But not a chance. They are as persistent here as in Oregon.
How Tackweed is Like Sin
1. Tackweed is cute on the surface, but ugly underneath.
Isn't
that like sin? We don't go out, see a sin for what it is, and then say,
"Oh, I want to do that ugly thing." Sin is attractive on the surface.
Only after we wade in do we realize the harm that is lurking there.
2. Tackweed spreads.
Sin
doesn't stay in one small place, either. Like tackweed, it reaches its
branches, enlarging its territory, intertwining itself in other parts
of your life, enlarging the area into which it will drop its seed.
3. Tackweed only propagates by seed, but the seeds remain viable for years.
Sin
propagates by seed, also. That's how negative peer pressure works.
Someone else can't sin for you; but they can certainly plant the seeds
of temptation in your life.
AND even when you overcome a sin,
residual seed from that sin lurks in the soil of your life for a
long time, waiting and tempting you to allow it to spring to life again.
4. It IS possible to overcome tackweed!
And
it IS possible to overcome sin! Of course, the best way to overcome
tackweed or sin is to never let them take root in the first place. But
working to overcome them is the point I am at in my own life.
My Tackweed Story
Once upon a time (last summer, actually),
there was a girl (hm., I was actually in my '40's, but still feel like a girl inside!),
who bought a piece of land.
She dreamed of the home that would be built there,
and envisioned lush and lovely gardens and pastures.
Then she found tackweed.
But
it wasn't too bad. Only along the edge of the property, near the main
road. So, she came out one beautiful morning in late summer (Wow! The excavator was breaking ground when I arrived--how exciting!),
gloves and garbage bag in hand (one of those white plastic shopping bags from any shopping experience),
and determined to wipe out the small infestation before it took hold too strongly.
She
carefully gathered up the few plants she found, smugly confident that
she had done a good job of it. As she walked farther along the roadway,
she came to the neighboring property--purchased but still vacant, and
alas! She discovered tackweed there, too. Being a good neighbor (Well, partly, but also because I didn't want a neighbor's infestation to get back into my carefully cleared lot),
she proceeded to pull that, too...
Until she pulled her back, landed in bed for a day or two, and had to hobble around for a week!
ASIDE
Now,
granted, I could just as easily have hurt myself pulling my own
tackweed, but the fact that I injured my back on my neighbor's property
adds well to my comparison. How many times do we hurt outselves trying
to pull sin out of our neighbor? There are times when God's Spirit
urges us to say the right words or in some way be His instrument in
reaching our neighbor, but God gave each of us free will. He will never
forcefully pull sin out of us, unless we give Him permission to do the
surgery, and if He won't do it Himself, how much less is it my job!
Besides, I have enough work just trying to exterminate the sin that
creeps into my own life! **
Back to the Story
A
blissful year passed. The girl moved into her new home, began to
cultivate her garden, and saw no new tackweed plants along the road.
Then she went on vacation and left her land to its own devices. When
she returned, where no tackweed had been there was now a huge forest! (Well, if 1/2 inch tall plants carpeting an 8' x 10' area can be called a forest).
Mindful of her back (and the 100 plus degree temperatures),
the girl carefully removed the new infestation, filling a large black yard-and-garden garbage bag (note the need for a MUCH larger container this time!).
She
also carefully wiped the thorny seeds from her shoes and into the
garbage bag each time she brought more plants to it. Multiple weeding
sessions later, she finally had conquered the new growth. She knew
there was still seed out there, and she would have to keep at it as it
emerged, but at least...wait a minute...what is that? Ugh! More
tackweed plants!
ASIDE
Sin,
like tackweed, comes back year after year from the seed that is left
behind. Both are also tricky. Because tackweed is low to the ground, it
sometimes hides under other plants, blends in, and is hard to see until
it becomes a big problem. Hm, sounds familiar. How does your "besetting
sin" camouflage itself? ***
Today,
the girl looks forward to several more sessions of weeding tackweed
from the roadside. She recently received good advice from friends who
have fought long and hard in the tackweed war.
ADVICE FROM FRIENDS ABOUT REMOVING TACKWEED:
1.
Work together. Rather than just trying to pull it alone, work together
to dislodge and bag it. **** It helps to work together in weeding out
sin, too. Invite a friend to help hold you accountable, to distract you
at times of greatest temptation, to help you get back up when you fall.
And God Himself provides the third strand in the rope!
2. Be
persistent. Seed is viable for years--I've heard 5 and 7 years. You
can't give up after the first pulling. Even as perseverance pays off in
the horticultural world, so in the spiritual world. /*/
3. A
general herbicide, like Round-up, works if you spray when the plants
are young and use several applications over time to keep the plants
down before they go to seed. Catching temptation before it becomes sin
is important, too. */*
And my final observation:
Catch
tackweed--and temptation--before it takes root. If it gets to the point
that you have to use Round-up, you may go through a barren
time--Round-up is no respector and kills everything. Broad measures to
exterminate rampant sin in your life may leave consequences that
separate you from ministry opportunities, people, or things that are dear to you. */*/*
*******
Dear Father,
Thank
you for tackweed and the illustration it gives me of the effect of sin
in my life. Help me to keep the seeds out whenever possible. When seeds
make their way to the fertile soil of my heart, help me to be diligent
in spraying them with the precious Blood of the Lamb, that they might
never grow to bear fruit or drop seed in my heart.
Amen
*******
Footnotes:
*
For pictures and a more thorough description of history, habitat, and
control of tackweed, check out
http://www.agdepartment.com/noxiousweeds/pdf/Puncturevine.pdf. I'll
also add that as a link in my sidebar--can't seem to get links to
appear in my text.
**Matthew 7:1-5
"Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge
others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be
measured to you.
"Why do you look at the speck of
sawdust in your brother's eye and pay no attention to the plank in your
own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and
then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye."
*** For more one besetting sin, see Oswald J. Smith's The Man God Uses.
**** Ecclesiastes 4:9-12
Two are better than one,
because they have a good return for their work;
If one falls down,
his friend can help him up.
But pity the man who falls
and has no one to help him up!
Also, if two lie down together, they will keep warm.
But how can one keep warm alone?
Though one may be overpowered,
two can defend themselves.
A cord of three strands is not quickly broken.
/*/ James 1:12
Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial, because when he has
stood the test, he will receive the crown of life that God has promised
to those who love him.
*/* James 1:14-15
...but
each one is tempted when, by his own evil desire, he is dragged away
and enticed. Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin;
and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death.
*/*/* 1 Corinthians 10:12-13
So,
if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don't fall! No
temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is
faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But
when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can
stand up under it.
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Posted by Anonymous 
Aug. 6, 2006 - Untitled Comment