“Other seeds fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked them out.” (Mat. 13:7) “As for what was sown among thorns, this is he who hears the Word, but the cares of the world and the pleasure and delight and glamour and deceitfulness of riches choke and suffocate the Word, and it yields no fruit.” (Mat. 13:22)
The third kind of heart Jesus describes is the thorn-infested heart. This kind of heart hears the Word and may even accept it with joy. However, his FIRST real love is for the cares, pleasures and riches of this world. He lives his life as if they were the answer to all his needs. It is what drives him. It’s what gets him out of bed in the morning. It is what he lives for.
John tells us: “Do not love this world nor the things it offers you, for when you love the world, you do not have the love of the Father in you. For the world offers only a craving for physical pleasure, a craving for everything we see, and pride in our achievements and possessions. These are not from the Father, but are from this world.” (1 Jn. 2:15-16 NLT)
The danger in having a thorn-infested heart is that it is totally oblivious that the deceitfulness of riches and the pleasures of this world have choked-out and suffocated the Word that was planted. He is unaware that his relationship with God is unfruitful, because his real interest - his first love - is in the things of this world. He will eventually discover that his love for the things of the world and his love for Christ cannot coexists. Jesus said, “No one can serve two masters. For you will hate one and love the other; you will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.” (Mat. 6:24 NLT)
You know, there is nothing wrong with us having nice things, a good education, a great career, a darling wardrobe (and all the ladies said “Amen!”) etc. God wants us to be blessed. He wants us to have and enjoy life. But if these things are our FIRST love and have a higher priority than our relationship with the Lord, then we are at risk of wandering from the faith. God’s Word says, “For the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil. And some people, craving money, have wandered from the true faith and pierced themselves with many sorrows.” (1 Tim. 6:10 NLT)
Maybe we have some thorns growing in the garden of our heart right now. No worries mate! Our heavenly Father is a Master Gardener and He is faithful to rid us of those pesky thorns! All we have to do is ask.
I found an interesting article Online that I think you will find humorous, and applicable. It is titled “How to Get Rid of Thorn Bushes.” Here is a small part of that article: “Act quickly! Start working to eliminate a thorn bush once you see the smallest sign of it growing in your garden. Persistence. Thorn bushes are extremely persistent. Therefore the only way to defeat them is to be even more persistent than they are. Once you have started working on eliminating the thorn bushes, keep at it until the bushes are completely gone. Otherwise, you risk losing everything you may have already accomplished. Always keep in mind the main rule: never, ever give up on a thorn bush. Also, remember to start early on your quest to eliminate thorn bushes. The larger the patch in your garden, the harder it is to eliminate the nasty growth. Think twice if you are too lazy to work on killing the bushes. When it comes to thorn bushes, procrastination is an absolute no-no!” Great advice!