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Wheat or Weeds
(The Ethics of the Church)

Is it right or wrong? That’s the ever present question. Unfortunately, this question often has no obvious answer. The old Western movies made it too easy. Not all villains wear black hats! Not all good guys wear white hats!
Jesus was speaking to this problem when he told the parable of the “Wheat and Tares”:

“The Kingdom of heaven may be compared to a man who sowed good seed in his field. But, while men were sleeping, his enemy came and sowed tares also among the wheat, and went away. But when the wheat sprang up and bore grain, then the tares became evident also. And the slaves of the landowner came and said to him, ‘Sir, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then does it have tares?’ And he said to them, ‘An enemy has done this!’ And the slaves said to him, ‘Do you want us, then, to go and gather them up?’ But he said, ‘No, lest while you are gathering up the tares, you may root up the wheat with them. Allow both to grow together until the harvest; and in the time of the harvest I will say to the reapers, “First gather up the tares; and bind them in bundles to burn . . . but gather the wheat into my barn” ‘ “(Matt. 13:24-30).

Jesus knew that at certain stages of development the wheat and tares look exactly alike. Furthermore, trying to separate them prematurely can destroy the wheat along with the tares.

They say in the first weeks of growth, wheat plants and weed plants are identical. You can’t pick out the undesirable elements without running the risk of uprooting the valuable grain. What then do we do as Christians? How can we distinguish the good from the evil? How can we make the right decisions?

I. FIRST, WE MUST BE WISE.

Throughout his ministry and again at the very end of his life, Jesus faced the question of moral priorities. He based his life principles on eternal truth. By evaluating his actions we can increase our own ability to exercise discretion.
Even so, few decisions will be between clear-cut alternatives. Instead, Christians usually face the difficult task of choosing between good and better. For instance, should members of certain sects be forced to seek medical attention for their children against their beliefs? This involves the question of which is more important, a specific child’s life, or the principle of religious freedom? There is no one correct response.

Christians can even be forced into “no win” situations of having to select the lesser of two evils. For instance, when terrorists hold hostages for ransom, should we pay and secure their release, or refuse and let the innocent victims be killed? This pits an immediate evil result--death for a limited number of persons, against a long-term evil result--the encouragement of repeated violence against untold numbers of persons. Again, there is no good solution--only bad or worse.

Furthermore, even the most appropriate choices, made under the best of conditions, may not be perfect! We simply can’t know everything. That requires Godlike omniscience. We can’t do everything. That requires Godlike omnipotence. We can’t be everywhere at once. That demands Godlike omnipresence. The fact that we aren’t omniscient, omnipotent, and omnipresent makes errors in judgment inevitable. However, the realization that results are usually mixed should not keep us from trying.

We must realize that the same evil results, whether the poor decision arises from ignorance or deliberate rebellion. Nature doesn’t play favorites and give exceptions for sincerity. What a person sows he reaps! The consequences are built-in and irreversible. A child dies from poison that is given accidentally as quickly as from poison that is given intentionally.

Also, things are changing faster and faster each day. The multiplying effect is amazing. A penny doubled each day would become a billion dollars in less than a month. The same principle is illustrated in the fairy tale about the frustrating tree that grew two limbs to replace every one that was cut off. There is also a frightening fantasy of being in a maze of tunnels that reveals two closed doors every time one is opened.

These analogies represent a picture of life in our times. Options are proliferating at a dizzying rate. Every time one decision is made the information gained creates a dozen new quandaries to take its place. Every time one problem is solved the very procedure of solution throws light on a hundred more questions to be answered.

We’re in the midst of a mind boggling knowledge explosion. Things won’t get easier or simpler. They must inevitably grow more difficult and more complex. Once there was bread. Now we have whole wheat, rye, white, cracked, loaves, buns, sliced, and so on. Two or three TV channels have become twenty or thirty and cable and satellites have added hundreds.

Besides this, the effects of our decisions have become more crucial. The consequences of our decisions have become more incurable. As ever greater amounts of information and power are transferred to mankind the possibilities for both good and evil are staggering.
We must be wise.

II. NEXT WE MUST BE STRONG.

We can’t evade our responsibilities. We are free to choose. We have our senses with which to test reality and we have a mind with which to reason and analyze. Paul said, “Examine everything carefully; hold fast to that which is good” (I Thess. 5:21).

Now, humans are not blatantly vicious. Most of us don’t desire to kill. Most of us don’t want to lie and steal and be unfaithful to our loved ones.

No! The doctrine of man’s depravity has been grossly misinterpreted. We know we’re not like that; and we know our neighbors aren’t like that. Human beings, in the main, aren’t creatures of violence and deception. If we were, our species would not have survived. Yet, we are prone to sin, if we define sin more realistically.

Theologians have been trying for centuries to find the root of sin. Some have said, “The cardinal sin is pride.” Pride, however, is a strawman. It doesn’t actually exist. Self-preservation is the basic instinct that motivates the behavior we call pride. In our attempt to cover up insecurities and measure up to standards of perfection we act out a role of egotism which is labeled pride; but it’s a mask. Most of us don’t even feel adequate, much less superior.

Other theologians have said, “The cardinal sin is rebellion against God.” Rebellion, however, is another strawman. The drive for personal maturity is the basic instinct that motivates the behavior we call rebellion. In our attempts to prove that we can make it on our own, we act out a role of hostility; but it’s a farce! We really don’t feel independent, much less invincible.

No! The cardinal sin is something much less dramatic than pride or rebellion. It’s much less overt and much less obvious. The besetting sin of the universe encompasses a principle that science calls the “Law of Inertia”—a moving body will continue to move. A static body will remain static. In other words, organisms tend to follow the path of least resistance.

Jesus called it fruitlessness. His harshest words were to the tree that didn’t bear, the seed that didn’t sprout, and the man who didn’t contribute. James said, He “who knows the right thing to do, and does not do it, to him it is sin” (James 4:17).

Therefore, we are sinners not because we are so bad, but because we don’t live up to our potential. We are sinners, not because we commit the big crimes, but because we neglect the little things.

On issue after issue the majority of people fall back on the old excuse, “Well, I just never thought of that.” The question is, “Why not?” It’s our job to learn and grow. Paul said, “Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth” (II Tim. 2:15, AV).
We must be strong.

III. FINALLY, WE MUST BE DETERMINED.

We are sinners because we blindly follow charismatic leaders. Over and over we see people quoting some authority figure or accepting some popular assumption. When confronted, they fall back on the old excuse, “Well, everybody else was doing it and I didn’t want to rock the boat.”

The question is, “Why not?” It’s our job to transform the world, not to be conformed to it. Paul said, “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what the will of God is . . .” (Rom. 12:2).

We are sinners because we take the easy road. In one choice after another we see people floating with the tide. An old peddler was asked how he chose his route each day. He replied, “Well, you see, I just always walked with the wind at my back.” In other words, he never bucked the crowd or swam upstream. The question is, “Why not?” It’s our job to make circumstances, use circumstances, and shape circumstances! Paul said, “We are no longer to be children, tossed here and there by waves, and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, by craftiness in deceitful scheming; but speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in all aspects unto him, who is the head, even Christ” (Eph. 4:14-15).

We must be determined.

Yes, establishing moral priorities is absolutely essential in a complicated world.

Ethics in the abstract is easy; but ethics applied to specific areas of life is hard. Here are some basic guiding principles:

As to family, remember this, every child has an inalienable right to be wanted and loved unconditionally.
As to occupations, remember this, we need the vision to see our contributions in a larger context. See the car, not the bolt; the harvest, not the seed.

As to economics, remember this, money is a vicious master; but it can be a benevolent servant.
As to citizenship, remember this, the majority may rule, but the rights of the minority must also be protected.
As to religion, remember this, all areas of life are sacred.

Therefore, we must overcome ignorance, impotence and inertia. Not knowing doesn’t excuse us from our responsibilities. Saying, “What you don’t know won’t hurt you” is very dangerous in a world of drugs, explosives and nuclear weapons.

Likewise, incompetence and lack of ability are unacceptable. We must say, “Lord we are able, or else make us able!”

And finally, apathy and inertia are inexcusable. The world has no place for “deadbeats.” Jesus said, “Why should it waste the ground?” (Luke 13:7, edb). Unfruitful trees will be replaced with energetic, persistent and productive ones.

If Christians will recognize and cultivate the wheat, the weeds will die out. We are to do His will and influence His world. All it takes for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing. Our small contribution can make a difference.
We must meet the challenge or perish! The Christians of this generation must be wise, strong and determined!

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(WC1881)

This issue of NEW PERSPECTIVES is from an unpublished manuscript © copyrighted 2008 by Miles and Maralene Wesner, Idabel, OK. PLEASE FEEL FREE TO USE THEM IN ANY WAY YOU THINK IS APPROPRIATE. The only thing we ask is that you give credit for original material in PUBLISHED works.

Miles E Wesner