Now that we’ve already established the beginning of man and reflected what it means to have our God given freedom, we’ll now delve into how we exercise this freedom in relation to how we judge others around us. We’ll be reflecting on our lives here on earth amidst the weeds that surrounds us, the weeds that could be your enemy, your friend, your lover, or you, yourself.

We’ll begin by reflecting on one of the most popular parables of today, the Parable of the Weeds.

The Parable of the Weeds

Matthew 13:24-43

24 Jesus told them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field. 25 But while everyone was sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat, and went away. 26 When the wheat sprouted and formed heads, then the weeds also appeared.

27 “The owner’s servants came to him and said, ‘Sir, didn’t you sow good seed in your field? Where then did the weeds come from?’

28 “‘An enemy did this,’ he replied.

“The servants asked him, ‘Do you want us to go and pull them up?’

29 “No,’ he answered, ‘because while you are pulling the weeds, you may uproot the wheat with them.

30 Let both grow together until the harvest. At that time I will tell the harvesters: First collect the weeds and tie them in bundles to be burned; then gather the wheat and bring it into my barn.’”

The Parable of the Weeds Explained

 36 Then he left the crowd and went into the house. His disciples came to him and said, “Explain to us the parable of the weeds in the field.”

 37 He answered, “The one who sowed the good seed is the Son of Man. 38 The field is the world, and the good seed stands for the people of the kingdom. The weeds are the people of the evil one, 39 and the enemy who sows them is the devil. The harvest is the end of the age, and the harvesters are angels.

40 “As the weeds are pulled up and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of the age. 41 The Son of Man will send out his angels, and they will weed out of his kingdom everything that causes sin and all who do evil. 42 They will throw them into the blazing furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. 43 Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Whoever has ears, let them hear.

Explaining the Parable in a Light of a New Perspective

The explanation of the parable that Jesus gave is very clear. Oftentimes, this is how we understood the message. But perhaps it is time to view it in the light of a new perspective.

Remove the weeds from your life instead of judging the weeds in others

Did you ever form a poor opinion of someone and discover later that you were wrong? Or have you ever judge someone badly and discover later that your judgment was incorrect?

Anytime we judge others we need to be aware that we may not have the full picture and so we may not be fair in our judgments of others. This can be compared to the weeds that the enemy sowed among the wheat in the parable taught by Jesus that looked very like the wheat in their early growth so that it was really impossible to decide properly which was the wheat and which the weed.

In this world of ours, all of us exist – both the ‘wheat’ and the ‘weeds’ and at present we do not have any idea of knowing which is which, not until judgement day. But why is it that despite this truth, people still go on accusing and judging others as if they knew that they themselves are good enough to be considered ‘wheat’ in this land?

In this parable Jesus asks us not to play God and judge people but to allow judgment to God. God is much more merciful and patient than we are. And with this, it would be better for us to concentrate on removing the ‘weeds’ from our lives rather than judging others because of the ‘weed’ that we see in them. Aren’t we blessed that God has the bigger picture and not our puny judgments?

Let us reflect this Wednesday and pray that God grants us the patience to understand others, the heart to forgive even if we’ve been badly hurt, the courage to repay others with goodness despite their wrongdoings, and the wisdom to put ourselves in the shoes of those whom we often judge.

For in the end of this all, we will all be judged in the same way that we have judged others, and the measure that we’ve used, will also be measured upon us.

“We can never judge the lives of others, because each person knows only their own pain and renunciation. It’s one thing to feel that you are on the right path, but it’s another to think that yours is the only path.”

– Paulo Coelho

This is part of my first ever Wholly Week Special series of posts, with the aim of making your holy week a more meaningful one and that by the end you’ll be once again ‘whole’. Feel free to read through them, be inspired, and inspire others. Have a blessed Lenten Season! Wholly Week Special: ‘Man’day | Wholly Week Special: Choose-day | Wholly Week Special: Weeds-day | Wholly Week Special:  ‘Tears’-day