Offending a Weed

Do weeds have feelings? What right do we have to say that this plant is a weed and another is a flower? How insensitive we are to classify a plant as invasive and good for nothing and needing to be pulled up. Honestly some weeds are pretty. Who decides anyway which plant is good and which ones are bad? Jesus seems to have a way of making the Pharisees and their lawyers mad. He really hurt their feelings when he disputed their washing theology. Isn't one theology as good as another? If they wanted to believe that hand-washing was essential to salvation then who cares? What harm could it do? Was it really worth Jesus commenting on? All weeds are not equal. Some are not only invasive but poisonous. Whey not let poison ivy take over your yard, and let your grand kids play in it? You know why not. Remember Jesus also said they were the blind leading the blind. So why not just let a blind man take another blind man over the cliff?

We live in a day of political correctness (PC). We don't want to offend anyone, unless they are conservative Christians. Then, it is OK. We tip toe through life trying not to say anything that will upset someone. We try to make everything sugar coated so it goes down easier. But that is not really true. There is much in the talk of the day that is offensive or causes shock. We even had a trial recently in Tampa where a "shock jock" radio personality named Bubba Love Sponge said some horrendous things about another less shocking jock and won his case. It seems we are very selective about who can say what when and where and to who about what. The rules are hard to follow. Also recently Dr. Benjamin Carson spoke at a Prayer Breakfast with our president present and was roundly criticized by some and wildly praised by others for speaking up, even on the subject of political correctness.

The disciples of Jesus were very concerned that Jesus was offending the Pharisees. Remember Jesus was not attacking their families or their looks or their race or their rights. He was merely speaking truth to power. He was telling them what God had to say about their theology. I think God has a right to correct a person's theology since theology is the "study of God." Jesus is not just another voice in a broad discussion on the subject. When he speaks up everyone else should go silent and listen. He is THE expert. His word is the last word on the subject. We are not Jesus' referee throwing the flag when He says something we do not like. If He says a group is a weed and blind, then you can be sure that both are true. Stay clear or you might get something that will make you itch or worse, i.e. fall into a pit.