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Why this is important: The worry of the world can completely drown out the word of my heavenly Father. Jesus speaks to me. He gives me His love.

But worry has a way of overcoming what I know God is saying. How often do illusions about getting more choke out the word? The way of the LORD is to hear the word and understand it. True repentance is to change my mind. That brings fruit!!

Jesus challenges us about how deceitful the pursuit of wealth can be. That leads to worry and not hearing GOD.

May I hear GOD and believe He is good. He has my best interest at heart. He will not fail me.

And the one on whom seed was sown among the thorns, this is the man who hears the word , and the worry of the world and the deceitfulness of wealth choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful .

Matthew 13:22

The third type of soil that Jesus talks about in this parable is crowded with thorns. This type of heart receives the good news but has competition from the world.

  • As with the second soil, this type of heart has enough potential for productivity that the life in the seed begins to develop.
  • But the competition from the thorns is too much, and the young seedling is choked out.
  • The message of the good news is not able to transform the person into a true disciple because of his or her competing priorities.
  • The “worries of this life” indicate that the person has not yet placed the kingdom above all else and so tries to manage his or her own life. Jesus has already warned about such worrying in the Jesus Manifesto (Matthew. 6:25–34), but the worry here tragically chokes out the life of the seed.

The “deceitfulness of wealth” combines with worry to choke out the life of the seed for the one who is trying to manage his or her own life apart from God and is tempted to find the solution in worldly resources. The noun behind “deceitfulness” (apate) can be used to express both “pleasure” and “deception”, which may be combined here to warn how wealth can be a deceptive pleasure.

Note too how in addition to warnings about worry, Jesus warned in the Jesus Manifesto about the power of the deceptive pleasure of wealth (Matthew. 6:19–24). The combined priorities of worry and wealth choke out the life of the message of the kingdom of heaven, so that it is unable to bear fruit.[1]

God’s Goal: God wants us to listen to Him, obey Him and love Him. God will take care of us. God is faithful to His word. We need to focus on God and not worry.

[1] Wilkins, M. J. (2004). Matthew (pp. 480–481). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.

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