The Wheat from the Chaff

JUL 2020

Matthew 13:24-30, 36-43

[Jesus] put before [the disciples] another parable: “The kingdom of heaven may be compared to someone who sowed good seed in his field; but while everybody was asleep, an enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat, and then went away. So when the plants came up and bore grain, then the weeds appear as well. And the slaves of the householder came and said to him, Master, did you not sow good seed in your field? Where, then, did these weeds come from?’ He answered, ‘an enemy has done this.’ The slaves said to him, ‘then do you want us to go and gather them?’ But he replied, ‘no; for in gathering the weeds you would uproot the wheat along with them. Let both of them grow together until the harvest; and at harvest time I will tell the reapers, Collect the weeds first and bind them in bundles to be burned, but gather the wheat into my barn.’”

This is a parable about discernment. It applies to both our actions and our thought system. What Jesus is saying here is that it is impossible to eliminate the ego altogether until one actually Christs. Until then, we are left to sort through that which we harvest from the world, including the metaphysical, given that we are dualistic beings, both physical and metaphysical, and we receive information on both fronts constantly. Since most of us will not obtain Christhood anytime soon, we must practice discernment instead. We are not to hold ourselves responsible for every little fearful thought that pops through our head or flashes through our mind screen. These loveless thoughts are a given. What we don’t do is detain them. Instead, we let them pass and release them without judging ourselves harshly, for that is an ego trick. We beat ourselves up mercilessly for some loveless thought. And then we get it into our heads that we’ve been too hard on ourselves, and we open the floodgates for a rush of negativity that goes unchecked. We are only responsible for the thoughts we hold; those we nurture and cultivate. For these are the thoughts that will inform our actions and words, and ultimately our character and destiny. We want to hold the good thought for ourselves and for others. As to why, we go back to the spiritual principle that thought never leaves the thinker, so we would do very well to hold good, loving, positive thoughts because we will have to live with them, and this calls for discernment. As we improve and develop spiritually, we will naturally grow in our discernment, becoming more familiar with separating the wheat from the chaff in our vision of the world and within our own minds. For what is very true is that when one becomes more greatly aligned with love, and that stems from loving thought, that which is not of love stands out like a sore thumb. This clarity allows us to detect when something is amiss in a situation or an individual with whom we are engaging. This foresight allows us to navigate more easily and more accurately in the world. Love is not blind; in fact, quite the opposite. Love is visionary. So, cultivate loving thoughts that you may see and engage in a more loving life. Now, GO LOVE!