“…but the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches and the desires for other things enter in and choke the word, and it proves unfruitful.” (Mark 4:19, ESV)
The scripture above comes from the biblical section on the parable of the sower or parable of the soils. In this parable, Jesus explained why some seeds grow and some do not. In doing so, Jesus was using the parable of the seeds to teach how God’s word grows in some places while not growing in others. Part of Jesus’ explanation of the parable to his disciples was that just as the seeds in the parable were choked out by weeds, “the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches and the desires for other things enter in and choke the word.” (Mark 4:19). The inevitable result is guaranteed when these worldly desires and riches enter some hearts; God’s word “proves unfruitful”.
In a closer examination of these words of Jesus, there are three things listed that “choke” out God’s word and cause the lack of spiritual growth. Jesus lists them:
1) The cares of this world
2) The deceitfulness of riches
3) The desires for other things
Taken at face value, what may easily destroy the power of the gospel in your life is found in these three things. If you let these three things flourish in your life, God’s word will diminish. If you feed these entities, your faith will die on the vine. If you do not purposefully keep these three things in their place, God’s word will soon be choked out of your spiritual life. Then, you will suffer the consequences like feeling distant from God, lacking a wholesome life, compromising your values, and developing a relatively shallow connection with Jesus.
If you look closely at these three things that can damage God’s Word in your life, they share some qualities. All determine your priorities. All are earthly. All are focused on this world. All lack a heavenly basis. All stoke your emotional desires. All are not required for a faithful life. Let’s focus on each of these three entities and see how they affect your spiritual life.
First, Jesus warns to not get caught up with “the cares of this world”. After studying the meaning of this verse from many biblical commentators, one thing was mentioned over and over. If you get caught up in the cares of this world, your goals and ambitions and concern will become wrapped up in these things. Your time will be consumed taking care of these worldly emotions and ambitions.
If a person’s main goal in life is to be fit so to live longer, the person will do whatever it takes to eat healthy, exercise to look good, and take care of one’s body. But, if you focus yourself solely on whatever feels good to your body, you might choose to sleep in on Sunday mornings rather than go to a Bible Study, save your money for exercise equipment instead of sharing your wealth, and finding a place to exercise instead of a place to worship.
If your main focus in your twenties is to find somebody to marry, you will spend all your effort on dating sites, dating apps, singles nights at bars, and other things. You might even completely ignore your prayer time, focusing instead on social media or the next date.
Even good “cares of this world” may become all consuming. You might devote some time to a dog shelter only to adopt three dogs. Then, wanting to help them grow, you enroll each in training classes or take trips to the dog park. However, those who have become consumed with their pets have left their fortunes to their pets. Some do not think a thing while spending thousands of dollars on jewelry or “bling” for their pet. One woman I know built a $45,000 swimming pool for her dogs in her back yard. Another woman spent $100,000 to clone her favorite cat.
Worry, fear, love, friendships, addictions, emotional needs, and wants are all cares of this world. When they take center focus, Jesus gets crowded out. I’m not saying you can’t enjoy things of this world or that you should go through life without caring about anything at all. I’m just saying that you should never let any care of this world gain your whole attention or detract from your love of God.
The second area of concern in the list Jesus gave in the scripture for today concerns “the deceitfulness of riches”. Have you ever met someone who was so wholly focused on money, investment portfolios, retirement incomes, or the stock channel that their whole world revolved around money? Even Jesus made it clear that “it is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than a rich man to gain entrance to heaven” (Mark 10:25)! The apostle Paul taught young Timothy that “those who desire to be rich fall into temptation, into a snare, into many senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction” (1 Timothy 6:9, ESV).
Now, you might begin to think that only rich people can succumb to “the deceitfulness of riches”. That is not true! Have you ever met people who were poor but were so distraught over their financial situation that they made spiritually damaging decisions in order to placate that fear?
I saw a news article that expressed praise for a woman who got herself out of a financial burden. What did she do? She started an “only fans” account, selling pictures and videos of her naked body online. The article explained that this “great financial move” helped her move from needing financial assistance to financial independence. But what the article failed to provide was that while doing so, she was selling her soul to the highest bidder. Beware of being so worried about financial matters that your life becomes consumed with ways to make money.
The last area of concern to Jesus listed in the scripture for today is found in the “desire for other things”. Some versions of the Bible state these words differently. The have interpreted Jesus words as to “lust for other things”. In a study of these words in Greek, Jesus’ words imply an “evil craving” or “selfish indulgence” that crowds out God.
Some people can be very self-indulgent, where everything revolves around them. They like to make friends in order to use them. They give away their money with strings attached. They like to hear themselves talk. Everything in their world revolves around pleasing their own perceived wants and needs.
Many decades ago, I was called by a woman who desired financial assistance. To determine her needs, I visited her apartment and inquired about her financial situation. It soon became apparent that her cupboards were bare. In the living room of her apartment, there were only three places to sit. The bedrooms didn’t contain bed frames. All the mattresses were on the floor, where the three children slept. I found out that this woman did have a job. So did her husband. Not understanding why they were so destitute, I asked further questions. I discovered that the woman’s husband was a drinker. He also gambled on sports. I looked at a picture of him on the wall. In it, he wore an expensive watch and finely tailored clothing. When I asked about her husband, I was informed that he took care of the money in the family. The wife was convinced that even though her husband had maxed out their credit cards, he was doing his best. Their doctor, though, was upset that the girls were undernourished while eating ramen noodles and cereal for most of their meals. It was clear to me that this family was clearly hurting due to a father who spent all the money on his own entertainment, his own gambling addiction, and his own fancy duds.
It is all too easy to get “caught up” with these three worldly temptations. If you do, your relationship with God will suffer. Your concern will be centered on worldly needs. Your every day will be consumed in worldly affairs. Time with God will seem frivolous. Your attention will be focused on emotional drama and worldly issues. You will find excuses to bow out of worshipping God, commitments to God, sharing, and prayer. Your values will change. Your focus in life will center in on the mundane. Holiness will take a lower priority to your own well-being.
Every now and then in your life, you are going to have to reevaluate Jesus’ warnings in this scripture. Do these three things hold ultimate sway in your life? Have they choked out your time with God, your love of Jesus, and your prayers? Where will your priorities lie?
In a closer examination of these words of Jesus, there are three things listed that “choke” out God’s word and cause the lack of spiritual growth. Jesus lists them:
1) The cares of this world
2) The deceitfulness of riches
3) The desires for other things
Taken at face value, what may easily destroy the power of the gospel in your life is found in these three things. If you let these three things flourish in your life, God’s word will diminish. If you feed these entities, your faith will die on the vine. If you do not purposefully keep these three things in their place, God’s word will soon be choked out of your spiritual life. Then, you will suffer the consequences like feeling distant from God, lacking a wholesome life, compromising your values, and developing a relatively shallow connection with Jesus.
If you look closely at these three things that can damage God’s Word in your life, they share some qualities. All determine your priorities. All are earthly. All are focused on this world. All lack a heavenly basis. All stoke your emotional desires. All are not required for a faithful life. Let’s focus on each of these three entities and see how they affect your spiritual life.
First, Jesus warns to not get caught up with “the cares of this world”. After studying the meaning of this verse from many biblical commentators, one thing was mentioned over and over. If you get caught up in the cares of this world, your goals and ambitions and concern will become wrapped up in these things. Your time will be consumed taking care of these worldly emotions and ambitions.
If a person’s main goal in life is to be fit so to live longer, the person will do whatever it takes to eat healthy, exercise to look good, and take care of one’s body. But, if you focus yourself solely on whatever feels good to your body, you might choose to sleep in on Sunday mornings rather than go to a Bible Study, save your money for exercise equipment instead of sharing your wealth, and finding a place to exercise instead of a place to worship.
If your main focus in your twenties is to find somebody to marry, you will spend all your effort on dating sites, dating apps, singles nights at bars, and other things. You might even completely ignore your prayer time, focusing instead on social media or the next date.
Even good “cares of this world” may become all consuming. You might devote some time to a dog shelter only to adopt three dogs. Then, wanting to help them grow, you enroll each in training classes or take trips to the dog park. However, those who have become consumed with their pets have left their fortunes to their pets. Some do not think a thing while spending thousands of dollars on jewelry or “bling” for their pet. One woman I know built a $45,000 swimming pool for her dogs in her back yard. Another woman spent $100,000 to clone her favorite cat.
Worry, fear, love, friendships, addictions, emotional needs, and wants are all cares of this world. When they take center focus, Jesus gets crowded out. I’m not saying you can’t enjoy things of this world or that you should go through life without caring about anything at all. I’m just saying that you should never let any care of this world gain your whole attention or detract from your love of God.
The second area of concern in the list Jesus gave in the scripture for today concerns “the deceitfulness of riches”. Have you ever met someone who was so wholly focused on money, investment portfolios, retirement incomes, or the stock channel that their whole world revolved around money? Even Jesus made it clear that “it is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than a rich man to gain entrance to heaven” (Mark 10:25)! The apostle Paul taught young Timothy that “those who desire to be rich fall into temptation, into a snare, into many senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction” (1 Timothy 6:9, ESV).
Now, you might begin to think that only rich people can succumb to “the deceitfulness of riches”. That is not true! Have you ever met people who were poor but were so distraught over their financial situation that they made spiritually damaging decisions in order to placate that fear?
I saw a news article that expressed praise for a woman who got herself out of a financial burden. What did she do? She started an “only fans” account, selling pictures and videos of her naked body online. The article explained that this “great financial move” helped her move from needing financial assistance to financial independence. But what the article failed to provide was that while doing so, she was selling her soul to the highest bidder. Beware of being so worried about financial matters that your life becomes consumed with ways to make money.
The last area of concern to Jesus listed in the scripture for today is found in the “desire for other things”. Some versions of the Bible state these words differently. The have interpreted Jesus words as to “lust for other things”. In a study of these words in Greek, Jesus’ words imply an “evil craving” or “selfish indulgence” that crowds out God.
Some people can be very self-indulgent, where everything revolves around them. They like to make friends in order to use them. They give away their money with strings attached. They like to hear themselves talk. Everything in their world revolves around pleasing their own perceived wants and needs.
Many decades ago, I was called by a woman who desired financial assistance. To determine her needs, I visited her apartment and inquired about her financial situation. It soon became apparent that her cupboards were bare. In the living room of her apartment, there were only three places to sit. The bedrooms didn’t contain bed frames. All the mattresses were on the floor, where the three children slept. I found out that this woman did have a job. So did her husband. Not understanding why they were so destitute, I asked further questions. I discovered that the woman’s husband was a drinker. He also gambled on sports. I looked at a picture of him on the wall. In it, he wore an expensive watch and finely tailored clothing. When I asked about her husband, I was informed that he took care of the money in the family. The wife was convinced that even though her husband had maxed out their credit cards, he was doing his best. Their doctor, though, was upset that the girls were undernourished while eating ramen noodles and cereal for most of their meals. It was clear to me that this family was clearly hurting due to a father who spent all the money on his own entertainment, his own gambling addiction, and his own fancy duds.
It is all too easy to get “caught up” with these three worldly temptations. If you do, your relationship with God will suffer. Your concern will be centered on worldly needs. Your every day will be consumed in worldly affairs. Time with God will seem frivolous. Your attention will be focused on emotional drama and worldly issues. You will find excuses to bow out of worshipping God, commitments to God, sharing, and prayer. Your values will change. Your focus in life will center in on the mundane. Holiness will take a lower priority to your own well-being.
Every now and then in your life, you are going to have to reevaluate Jesus’ warnings in this scripture. Do these three things hold ultimate sway in your life? Have they choked out your time with God, your love of Jesus, and your prayers? Where will your priorities lie?