In his book Marketplace Christianity, Robert Fraser tells about an interesting encounter:

After I taught at a seminar one day, the CFO of a large company expressed his indignation over the “homosexual agenda” being advanced at his workplace. He felt it was time to make a stand and publicly fight the homosexuals, though he thought it would cost him his job. He was animated and angry.

This poor man had completely missed his mission on earth… We are here not to stop all sinners from sinning, or to destroy those who resist God. Jesus is not trying to judge sinners (John 3:17; 12:47-48) – he is trying to woo them to Himself through love… Our prayer should not be for them to be judged – which is already assured – but it should be that God would forgive them and grant them mercy… There will be a day when he returns as judge of the earth, but that is in the next age, not this one. Our job is not to judge and condemn but to love and have compassion.”¹

In the Parable of the Weeds (Matthew 13:24-30; 36-40), Jesus explained to His disciples that it is difficult to separate the wheat from the tares (a weed that resembles wheat) when they are intermingled in the same field.^* Some Christians have interpreted this to mean the existence within the institutional church of both wheat and tares. This is undoubtedly true but Jesus’ own interpretation in Matt 13:38 clearly states that the field is the world, not the church. Jesus has planted His followers in the midst of an unbelieving society where they have the power to influence for good but at the same time are subject to another kind of influence, one that seeks to destroy.

Any premature attempt to eliminate the weeds would inevitably result in some of the wheat being uprooted as well (Matt 13: 28-30). Perhaps Jesus is warning us not to have a judgmental attitude towards ungodly people in our midst but to patiently await the growth of inner truth in people’s lives.

There were several occasions when I came upon people who had lived such immoral lives that I thought they would never know God personally. Later on I learned that these very same people encountered the Lord in an authentic way and had their lives dramatically turned around. Premature judgment has the potentially destructive effect of uprooting good seed. Author Rick Howard in his book, The King Describes His Kingdom states that “what appear to be weeds are often wheat” – in reference to the fact that tares and wheat look similar at a certain stage in their growth. We may end up antagonizing some of the good seed God has sown. He then makes the astute observation that “many of us certainly appeared more as tares than as wheat at some stage of our lives.”²

The job of sorting out the righteous from the unrighteous is the job of God’s angels, not ours. Jesus clearly mentioned this when He explained the meaning of the parable to His disciples (Matt 13: 40-42). Unfortunately some Christians have tried to weed out the field before harvest time and in the process unnecessarily alienated others by their hostile stance that often leaned towards judgment and condemnation. Today is not judgment day. Not yet. While we are still planted in the field we need to exercise love, compassion and mercy towards the ungodly people around us. Jesus showed us a good example when he demonstrated love and compassion towards tax collectors, prostitutes, a woman caught in adultery and a thief on a cross. (Isn’t it interesting that His harsh words were often directed at the religious and self-righteous people of His time such as the Pharisees and not often towards “sinners?”) Let us pray that our understanding and experience of God’s grace would lead us to extend a gracious spirit towards those around us.

Reflect: How would the principles behind the Parable of the Weeds affect the way we relate to our co-workers, clients and superiors at work?

^*To see the close similarity in appearance between wheat and tares visit this site.

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¹Fraser, Robert, Marketplace Christianity (Overland Park, KS: New Grid Publishing), p. 108.
²Howard, Rick C, The King Describes His Kingdom (Pasig City, Philippines: ICI Ministries, Inc.), p. 106.