“The seeds that fell among the thorns represent those who hear the message, but all too quickly the message is crowded out by the cares and riches and pleasures of this life. And so they never grow into maturity.” (Luke 8:14 NLT)

We know that Jesus used parables, or ‘word picture stories’ to talk about God’s kingdom to the masses of people who came to hear Him speak. One of the more widely known parables He shared is the ‘Parable of the Sower’, and is found in 3 of the 4 gospels. I should also point out that while there was much truth to be learned from these parables, Jesus only ‘revealed’ these truths to those closest to Him, His ‘disciples’. This is no small point either (Luke 8:10).

So after Jesus shared this simple illustration with the multitude in Luke 8:4-8, His disciples came to Him inquiring as to what the story meant; and He was happy to explain it to them. The story itself tells how a man went out to sow some seed, and the seed fell on various types of soil, which affected its ability to grow and produce fruit. And yes, fruit matters! (Matt. 3:8-10; 7:17-20; Luke 13:6-9)

One of those soil-types was overtaken by thorns, so when the plants begin to grow…it was ‘choked’ by the thorny branches so that it never fully matured by bringing forth good fruit. (Luke 8:8). When Jesus was alone with His disciples, He revealed to them what those ‘thorns’ represented, which was the verse I began this lesson citing vs. 14.

It’s pretty simple, really…as Jesus explains how after people hear the word of God…it’s only a matter of time before some of them get overtaken by other ‘things’. You might say they lose their focus, they ‘drift’ out of their lane, or their heart goes after other things which begin to take precedence in their lives. Jesus used such words as “the cares and riches and pleasures…of this life’ (14). And tragically, it hinders, if not brings to a sudden stop…the production of good fruit in their lives. Let me say it again: Fruit matters.

Now I suppose we could discuss and debate until we are blue in the face as to what Jesus was referring to when He mentions the ‘cares and riches and pleasures’ of this life, but I want to zero in on that word ‘pleasures’ that Luke uses here. It comes from the Greek word [hedonon] which is where we get the word ‘Hedonism’, but the meaning of the word itself is ‘sensual delight’.

Hedonism, as you might know already is the philosophical doctrine proposing that pleasure and happiness are the highest good and the ultimate aim of human life. In other words, as we often hear the world tell us: ’If it feels good, do it! If it makes you happy, pursue it!”

I would hope that anyone with a little common sense and maturity would recognize that such a mindset would only lead to ‘spiritual emptiness’…and worse. I would also think you would detect that one who subscribes to such a philosophy ends up living a very ‘self-centered’ life, which is diametrically opposed to the central message of the gospel that Jesus came to deliver.

Now I don’t want to do too deep a dive into this topic, but I certainly feel compelled to share some ‘nuggets of truth’ from God’s word that any sincere ‘believer’ would want to chew on and take to heart. Doing so could very well contribute to the production of ‘good fruit’ in your own life; and did I mention that ‘fruit matters’?

So let me ask you this: What brings you ‘pleasure’? Again, this word can imply ‘sensual delight’, but that word ‘sensual’ is not a ‘bad’ thing in itself. It simply relates to the gratification of the physical senses and bodily appetites. It can carry over into ‘erotic or sexual connotations’, but keep in mind…these are not necessarily ‘bad things’ either, provided that meeting those various needs are in alignment with God’s word.

I should also point out that true ‘children of God’ are supposed to be led by God’s Spirit, and not one’s ‘sensual feelings’ (Rom. 8:14). But that doesn’t mean one can’t enjoy a good, tasty meal with friends, or a relaxing vacation at the beach with loved ones. And yes, God created ‘sex’ to be enjoyed by husband and wife, which does indeed bring pleasure and oneness, not to mention ‘babies’.

And as we also know, we have an ‘enemy’ who is spiritual in nature, and he is always roaming about seeking to ‘steal, kill, and destroy’ people’s lives (John 10:10; 1 Pet. 5:8). He is most successful at accomplishing this when he can pervert or distort the things of God and the word of God. He’s been doing that since the beginning of time when man first appeared on the scene (Gen. 3:1-5).

Back in that parable of the sower, Jesus explained to His disciples that when some seed falls on hard ground, that ‘Satan comes immediately to take away that word from men’s hearts lest they believe and are saved’ (Luke 8:11-12). In the parable, He referred to this enemy as ‘the birds of the air’ (5). Something else you might want to make note of is if the enemy can’t snatch that word from your heart, then he’s known to ‘add bad seed’ to the mix, which can bring confusion and conflict when we ‘fall asleep’ (Matt. 13:24-25). His ultimate goal is to cause us to ‘sin’, or ‘break God’s commandments’ (1 John 3:4) in order that he might gain access into our lives, which then brings ‘death’. That’s probably why Paul admonishes us to ‘give him no place’ (Eph. 4:27).

And what is one thing that we know about ‘sin’? It usually brings intense, but temporal ‘pleasure’ to us (Heb. 11:25). So if we are not being governed or ‘led by God’s Spirit’ (Rom. 8:14; Gal. 5:16)…then we are more susceptible to falling into that dead-end trap of ‘pursuing pleasures rather than God’, as we are told would happen in these days we live in (2 Tim. 3:1,4).

So, can ‘too much of a good thing’…have a ‘down side’? Join me tomorrow and we’ll examine that further.