Mugwort and Ragweed

             Therefore, get rid of all moral filth and the evil that is so prevalent and humbly accept the word planted in you, which can save you.  (James 1:21)

“I will send my terror ahead of you and throw into confusion every nation you encounter. I will make all your enemies turn their backs and run. I will send the hornet ahead of you to drive the Hivites, Canaanites and Hittites out of your way.  But I will not drive them out in a single year, because the land would become desolate and the wild animals too numerous for you.  Little by little I will drive them out before you, until you have increased enough to take possession of the land. (Exodus 23:27-30)

Yesterday, as you may have already heard, I used a plant identification app to find out about some plants in my front garden. I suspected they might be plants I didn’t want, but I was waiting for them to flower. Today, intent and impulse came together, and I actually did it. It may take a while to get them all out. Some had to be cut rather than pulled out by the roots, which is not a good sign, but it is what it is. The garden looks better and the plants I want to be there now have more room.

How often do we look at our lives, and convince ourselves that we might be wrong about something we see? We tell ourselves it might be a pretty flower, or a useful herb (some folks think mugwort is medicinally useful.) Eventually, it’s identified as moral filth and prevalent evil, and we feel led to treat it appropriately. What won’t come out easily, we cut close to the roots, only to have them reappear. Or, because it has the opportunity, another bit of filth begins to grow in the disturbed spot.

Sometimes, we can’t pull the filth or evil out by the root, just as God didn’t drive all of Israel’s enemies out of the land in a year. There may be too little of us available to fill the void left by the evil removed. In addition, struggle produces strength that an easy victory cannot match. That means we may have our work cut out for us. And one of the first steps is to figure out how to identify the filth and evil, because sometimes, you may decide to wait to see when you shouldn’t.. 

One last thought. Part of the way to do this is to "accept the word planted in you" because if you learn to recognize good, you'll recognize that the bad isn't the good.