Okay, so Jesus never said that exactly… but if he had it would make for a nice metaphor. The quality of our lawns does not reflect the depth and purity of our walk with God, but they do have a lot in common.

And yes, I’m going to tell you how. But be warned, having spent the last three weekends pulling weeds from my yard, I have had WAY too much time to think about this article. Ergo I’ve parceled the article so that it can be better mulched (yes, the horticulture lingo has begun).

The first thought that sprouted to mind was that weeds are like sins. They seem great. They look like flowers (at first), provide the earliest signs of life in the spring and reproduce like bunnies on Clomid and Viagra.

2nd thought: “”Why didn’t I put down some fertilizer in the fall?” If I had only spread the winterize formula, which I had purchased, many of these weeds would never have developed to haunt my days and whiff through my sinus filled nights.

I know many who have grown up in solid nutrient rich soil (myself included). While sins are still an issue they don’t present nearly the formidable behemoth that they present to my friends that grew up in unfertilized and depleted soil. The lesson: train up a child in the way he should go… I’m thankful for my upbringing and I want to bless my children with the same early start. For those who have dealt with sins and issues that were not your fault, take hope, the battle you are fighting to master and bind these family sins and curses is for your children and children’s children. God knows where we start and He is watching to see how we use the talents we do have.

3rd thought: Don’t get discouraged. Dealing with life issues, habits, addictions and sins is not a one time trip down the aisle experience. We have to work on it and it will take time. My experience is that God doesn’t remove the stuff we’ve dumped on ourselves. He will often miraculously heal and restore us from those things others dump on us, but the filth we bury ourselves in He often allows us the opportunity to dig ourselves out of (He still helps and encourages us but we get to “be the miracle”).

God straightened my teeth when I was 12. It is the only miracle I’ve ever experience for a certainty – and I will take it to my grave. The orthodontist even admitted the miracle, to quote him closely “I only wish God had fixed his over-bite as well.” The next three years found me wearing braces, head gear and other instrumentation (now forbidden by the Geneva Convention) to fix my over-bite. Over the years I’ve struggled with this, “God why didn’t you finish the job?” The answer that came to me recently was that my “Bubba Gump” teeth were inherited. The over-bite was because I sucked my thumb until I was … not quite 13.

To put it another way. God could have me win the lottery. Or He could have me learn my lesson by earning and managing my way out of the debt I got myself into through foolish and selfish spending practices. I’ve prayed for a miracle (anyone want to buy a script?) but I haven’t quit my day job. We learn more by fixing our mistakes then by being given an “A.”

4th thought: Others won’t see the change at first, and may never give us the encouragement we deserve. If we are changing our lives for the approval of others we will be disappointed. No one notices how hard the work is, nearly as well as the one doing the hard work. We must be weeding out of our lives those things that hold us back, hurt others, or both, because God has told us to.

The actual quote from Jesus was “be ye perfect as I am perfect.”

It is because of Christ we know what the perfect lawn (life) looks like. Without His example we might be satisfied to live in our weed garden. To some, the example Christ gives and the command to emulate this example is untenable so they stay inside. Others say that they want to be like Christ, but won’t get their hands dirty and so they just mow over the weeds to keep them “tamed.” A precious few will see the example, purpose in their heart, get their hands dirty and with God’s help purify their lives.

Misc. thoughts on clearing out one’s lawn (life): To pull weeds it is best to water the soil so the weeds can be pulled easier (read the Bible, I suggest the books of James and Romans).

To prevent future weeds put down some fertilizer and weed killer (prayer & meditation).

When pulling weeds get the roots (repent of sinful motives, unforgiveness, and bind spiritual forces).

Throw away the pulled weeds (remove temptations, reminders and anything that can resurrect the sin).

Final Thought: Conviction vs. Condemnation. As I watched my yard slowly flower into its full weed-filled glory I felt convicted that I needed to do something about it. I knew the problem. Now if my neighbor had come to me and condemned me for bringing down his property value, that would not have been well received. It would have been true, but my neighbor shouldn’t be surprised if I am offended by him and don’t accept his invitation to go to church with him on Sunday. Oops, mixing my metaphors.

Now if my yard were starting to restore the ozone layer with its rain forest flora, then a tactful visit from my neighbor is in order. Now where the line is between conviction and condemnation is I can’t say exactly. I think it has to do with our motives. Conviction is something that the Holy Spirit specializes in and when he convicts the sinner (that’s everyone) he also supplies the grace to respond. Condemnation on the other hand is something humans specialize in and when we condemn others we do so to fill better about our own mowed lawn.

When we have gotten dirty, spent time on our knees and patiently pursued God’s design for our lives, we seem to be much more willing to do the same for our neighbors. To misquote Jesus one last time “love your neighbor’s lawn as much as you love your own lawn.”