These flowers are from my garden. I grew them. I watered them. And for a short time, they bloomed and yielded beautiful flowers to personally enjoy and give to others. I don’t have a particularly green thumb; admittedly it rained more than I watered them, but none the less, they got the nourishment they needed to grow.
On the other hand, I’ve been given indoor plants. They’ve died. I’ve been told they need to be watered. Real flowers and plants (as opposed to dried or artificial) take a lot of work. Bottom line: if I don’t feed them, they don’t grow. Feed them; they grow.
Similarly:
- If I read my Bible, I will learn.
- If I obey what I read in the Bible, I will grow in that wisdom.
- If I eat too much I will gain weight.
- If I constantly complain I will grow into a sour old woman.
- If I feed the sin “that so easily entangles” (Hebrews 12:1) it will grow.
The converse is true. What I don’t feed, won’t grow.
As Joe and I have the privilege to mentor others, we see a trend. Not necessarily a good trend. We see young (and old) married couples ending their marriages because they refuse to feed their relationship with healthy doses of caring, respect, and honesty. (These are the 3 ingredients that make a marriage healthy according to author/counselor/speaker Leslie Vernick.) We see singles choosing (intentionally) to act upon their desires and lusts feeding the wrong things – emotions, physical pleasure, etc. Some even say, “God will use my sin someday to teach others.” Why not start now and become the learner who does what pleases God?
It sounds so simple and easy; but it’s not. It’s hard. We all have the tendencies to feed our sin, our desires, etc. but it takes purposeful decisions to feed the right things that will yield a flower garden rather than weeds. Still, some insist they’d rather grow, pick, and keep growing weeds; which like sin grows out of control and takes over if left unattended.
What are you feeding? What gets fed – will grow.