Those Darn Weeds

by Jim Rower

I hate weeds and I hate weeding. I’m guessing I’m not in the minority on that point; I don’t know anyone who likes either. (If you do like weeding, please contact me—have I got some fun for you!)

The weed I hate most is Bermuda grass, also known as crabgrass. When we bought a new home in Rancho Peñasquitos ages ago, I laid down new sod in the front and back yards. It looked great. However, it didn’t take much more than a year before weeds started to grow, including Bermuda grass.

If one catches Bermuda grass when it first appears—while the roots are shallow and haven’t spread—it can be removed without too much effort. But let it go for any time at all, and the roots grow much deeper and broader. Their roots can even grow six feet deep in good soil conditions.

This invasive grass sends out stolons, and grows new roots wherever a stolon touches the ground. After that, it becomes so intertwined with the desirable grass that it is nearly impossible to extract without pulling out the good grass with it and leaving bare patches. Left unchecked, Bermuda grass will take over the entire lawn and choke out any other grasses.

Whenever I was weeding out Bermuda grass, I was reminded of another common name for it: Devil Grass. That’s what my dad called it, and I came to understand why. As I was pulling these weeds, following the stolons from root ball to root ball and trying to untangle the bad grass from the good, it occurred to me that Bermuda grass is very much like sin in my life.

Sin can start as a very small thing. If we recognize it right away for what it is, we can more easily deal with it and weed it out of our life. But if we let the sin go, it grows deep roots and might become a habit that is much harder to deal with later on. It then spreads to create new sins in other areas of our life.

Our sins can become so intertwined with the “good” in our life, that we feel there is no way to rid ourselves of them. In many cases, we might not even recognize them as sin anymore. They are just part of our character. Left unchecked, sin will choke out our walk with God completely.

The good news is we don’t have to fight sin on our own. God has promised to help us. Reading the Bible regularly is like applying pre-emergent weed killer; it helps us recognize sin and kill it off before it can take root. The Bible says:

“Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Come near to God and He will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded” (James 4:7-8).

“No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; He will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, He will also provide a way out so that you can endure it” (1 Cor 10:13).

Father God, You made me to serve and glorify You, but I fall so short of what You desire. I am a sinner. I allow sin to infest itself in my life—sometimes I even welcome it in. Forgive me, and help me to truly repent from my sins and turn toward You and the things You want me to be thinking, saying, and doing. Amen.