My Pride is a Weed.

Our house has a small bed of flowers that our landlord planted earlier this year, and it is our job to do the basic maintenance. I am not a gardener. I do not, nor will I probably ever profess to be a gardener. In fact, growing up it was the chore I hated the most. I do not have the patience to nurture plant life; the end result of yard work is never satisfactory enough to warrant the initial effort.

But having said all that, this small garden combined with my limited childhood experience makes me understand why gardeners hate weeds.


Weed
–noun

1.	a valueless plant growing wild, esp. one that grows on cultivated ground to the exclusion or injury of the desired crop.

2.	any undesirable or troublesome plant, esp. one that grows profusely where it is not wanted

Within a couple weeks, these plants can choke out and completely overpower the non-weeds in the garden. Even in places where good plants won't grow, weeds never seem to care. They grow in cracks of sidewalks, up around rocks, in the middle of other plants - just about anywhere. Give them an inch of soil and they'll go to town.

So as I was pulling our flowerbed full of weeds, I thought how much weeds are like those nagging sins in our lives. Everyone has them. Those certain things that no matter how many times you think you've beaten it; they manage to creep back into your life.

Mine is pride. If everyday I do not decide to humble myself before the Lord, I have offered an inch of soil for my pride. If I'm not careful, in a matter of weeks the cracks in my life can be overflowing with the dangerous fruit of pride. One of the best ways I can avoid that is by knowing where are my life's sidewalk cracks. If I am aware of my weak places, I can be more aware of my pride weed growing.

Also, weeds are stubborn. They work REALLY hard to stay put.
1) Sometimes they're prickly - who wants to try and pull a weed that's going to hurt? I mean, how much harm is it really doing there in that small corner of my garden? Maybe the prickly one can stay.
2) Sometimes their roots go deep. It's easy to pull off the green shoots, but without getting to the depth of the problem the weed will keep coming back. Getting the root usually takes longer, but being patient enough to get the root will save time and effort in the long run.

But even if they're stubborn and prickly and 4 inches in the ground; it's very important to seek out and get rid of the weeds. Even a few weeds of sin can do real damage the garden. Also, as difficult as it can be to constantly try and beat those nagging sins, the end result is incredibly gratifying to look back and see the full beauty of the garden.