In the parable of the sower (Luke 8), Jesus illustrates some hearts by suggesting they are like “thorny ground.” The word of God is sown in their hearts and they have “heard” (8:14) but, as they go on their way, the word is choked with “worries and riches and pleasures of life.” Consequently, they do not bring “fruit to maturity.” The things we worry about are not necessarily sinful. “Riches” are not inherently sinful. “Pleasures of life” are not always ungodly pleasures. But they can be a distraction from what God requires of us.
King Uzziah was blessed by God because he “did right in the sight of the Lord” (2 Chronicles 26:4). But those blessings became a distraction. Later, in verse 16, the historian writes that “when he became strong [from his blessings from God!], his heart was so proud that he acted corruptly, and he was unfaithful to the Lord his God.” Subsequently, he decided he did not have to submit himself to the restrictions of the Word of God.
In the 1920s, in Ethiopia, a man named Haile Selassie decided to bring peace to the land, in the face of fighting among warlords. He was described as a gentle and quiet man. As he grew in power and influence, in 1927 he invited warlords to recognize him as the nation’s leader. One warlord, Balcha, decided to defy Selassie. Eventually, Selassie insisted that Balcha join him for a banquet. Balcha agreed, if he could bring 600 of his personal bodyguards, for he suspected Selassie of deception. Selassie allowed him.
At the banquet, Balcha ordered his bodyguard to be suspicious and not to get drunk. During the banquet, Selassie treated him with honor and respect. When the time came for the songs to honor Ethiopia’s leaders, Selassie allowed only songs to praise Balcha. Throughout the whole event, Balcha decided in his mind that he could eventually defeat Selassie. He would return with his entire 10,000-man army and either kill or imprison this pushover.
However, when Balcha returned to his camp with the aforementioned 10,000-man army (minus his 600-man bodyguard), he found the camp deserted and nothing but smoke arising from the fires. Selassie, during the banquet, had sent the army of an ally to buy out the loyalty of Balcha’s men – with gold and other valuables. Surrounded by this formidable army, Balcha’s men were intimidated and yielded. His entire army was disarmed and disbanded. Balcha eventually surrendered and agreed to become a monk.
Balcha was distracted with the “blessings.” We, too, can get distracted by our blessings and think that these “riches” and “pleasures” are an end in themselves. The proper view of blessings is described by Paul in Romans 2:4: “Or do you think lightly of the riches of His kindness and tolerance and patience, not knowing that the kindness of God leads you to repentance?”
Blessings from God should motivate us to constantly reexamine our life to make sure our behavior measures up to His expectations. That is the mark of true faithfulness, not the quality or quantity of our blessings. In Luke’s version of the Sermon on the Mount, our Savior warned, “But woe to you who are rich, for you are receiving your comfort in full” (6:24). Don’t get distracted with wealth or pleasures.
Paul Holland
