22Now he who received seed among the thorns is he who hears the word, and the cares of this world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and he becomes unfruitful.
13:22
Now he who received seed among the thorns is he who hears the word,
The person who hears the message among thorns has an appearance of faith as well. It is a faith mixed with something else.
and the cares of this world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word,
The thorns are worries of the world, especially about riches. The word “cares” is anxieties. Anxiety is a form of fear, a fear of suspension between whether the good or the bad will occur.
Riches have a proclivity to deceive. They look very attractive but in the end are empty to fulfill.
and he becomes unfruitful.
Bearing fruit is the test of whether someone is biblical.
PRINCIPLE:
Preoccupation with the temporal preempts faith.
APPLICATION:
Christians struggle against the world’s influence. If they put worry on top of that struggle, the problem gets worse. Seduction of the world will crowd out putting priority on God’s program. It is easy to allow things to clutter our lives. The priority of the pursuit of riches will blunt Christian living. This is more subtle than frontal trials. It is easy to worry about whether we have enough funds to retire.
