In a parable in Matthew Chapter 13, Jesus tells us about our life on earth- how good and bad survive side by side. Though it is difficult to differentiate bad ones from good, in due course of growth, bad exposes itself.
1) It is God who separates
His parable of wheat and weed clearly tells us not to indulge in judging others and condemning them as bad. It is God’s work. It warns us against relying on our human capacity to know fully the mind of God. It suggests that what might appear to be bad and corrupt or good and pure to our eyes might not necessarily be any of these.
The master’s instructions to the servants clearly state that they are not to get involved with separating the wheat from the weeds. The master goes further to say that if they ever try to do it, they might end up in damaging the wheat also.
2) The answer for the survival of bad and a lesson for us to be kind
This parable answers our great question why we find the bad flourishing and God is not punishing them then and there. God is so merciful and kind that He waits for a conversion. Though He has the power He is lenient. He teaches us also to be merciful and kind to our fellow human beings. The virtuous must be understanding towards others and slow to condemn.
3) Weeds everywhere and every time
We find in every generation, in every century, in every epoch of time, there have been and are people who attempt to show themselves to be more Christian or Godly. They make others feel irreligious, guilty and not very good, like weeds in a field of wheat. As humans we are quick to judge and condemn. We try to remove the obstacles in our way, get rid of, or avoid people who disagree with us. Let us leave judgment and elimination to the Will of God and lead a simple and humble life in the light of the Word.
4) Our work is not to eliminate the weeds but to make our own life fruitful
We are called not to judge others how they should live their lives, but to make our own lives fruitful in love for others. We are called to be wheat as far as possible by growing the goodness in us and by eliminating the bad within ourselves.
5) Accept the fact that we are in a world of good and evil
The parable shows us clearly that we are living in a world where good and bad exist. It is a place where both wheat and weeds grow side by side. We should not be discouraged by the growth of the weed but we should try to nourish ourselves to grow the good.
6) How to identify weeds?
How to identify a weed? Can we pull up every plant that looks vaguely suspicious? In the beginning stage it is very difficult to differentiate wheat from weeds. Both look the same. It is only when it grows that we can know the realities of a weed. From their fruits only we can identify them.
None of us is completely free of evil. There is more bad in the best of us, and more good in the worst of us, than any of us will ever know. Hence let us leave the sorting of good and evil to God who is patient, merciful and wise. Let us be more wheat and wait for a good harvest.
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