Seeds

" 'Keep my decrees.
      " 'Do not mate different kinds of animals.
      " 'Do not plant your field with two kinds of seed.
      " 'Do not wear clothing woven of two kinds of material."  Leviticus 19:19

Yesterday during my Bible reading, this verse caught my eye.  Specifically, one part of it. 

      " 'Do not plant your field with two kinds of seed.

Do not plant your field with two kinds of seed.  That sounds like a strange law to me- yet here was God, telling his people the rules and guidelines, and right there in the midst of all this seriousness, He says to not plant your field with two kinds of seed.  What's up with that?  Variety is a good thing, isn't it?

The reason God had been giving these Israelites all these laws and rules was to try and keep them pure and righteous.  God knew the lands they were marching into, He knew the people who lived there, how they sinned, and how they fell into sin in the first place.  When He says not to plant a field with two kinds of seed, He is talking about remaining pure.

Seeds. Here is another verse from the Bible about seeds.

"Some people are like seed along the path, where the word is sown. As soon as they hear it, Satan comes and takes away the word that was sown in them. ¹⁶Others, like seed sown on rocky places, hear the word and at once receive it with joy. ¹⁷But since they have no root, they last only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, they quickly fall away."  Mark 4:15-17

When God is talking about planting a field with two different kinds of seed, He's not talking about two different kinds of food.  For example, cucumbers and corn.  You can plant those next to each other in a field, and they will grow without a problem.  However, if you take two different kinds of cucumber, and plant them together in a field, the cucumber plants can cross, and the plants the following year could very well be a result of a cross of two kinds- they essentially become a kind of mutation.

So let's think about the seeds from Leviticus, in the context of Mark.   What kind of seeds are we planting?  This is one of the many things where we need to be careful what we are taking into our souls on a daily basis.  Let's say we're spending 30 minutes a day reading our Bibles- taking in the precious seed of the Word of God.  The seed that will grow within us and hopefully bear righteous fruit.  But then, later on in the day, we spend some time reading a book whose seed isn't exactly pure- maybe a self-help book, telling you the power of your mind.  Or maybe a fictional book whose characters are all of a demonic nature.  We're adding bad seed to the good seed we already took in.  As children of God, as citizens of Heaven, and sons and daughters of The King, we need to be more careful about the seeds we are planting.

Let's think in another way.  Let's think about the seeds that we sow.  One minute, we're talking to someone who needs encouragement.  We share scripture with them, pray with them, and the whole time we're planting seeds of life, and seeds of encouragement- the very things they need to hear.  But then as conversation goes on, it takes a dismal turn, and we start sowing seeds of a different kind- we talk about someone else maybe, and sow seeds of gossip and of negativity as we criticize someone else.  Despite any good intentions that come from it- they are still bad seeds, and should have been thrown out completely.  Now you've sown both good seeds and bad seeds with this person- what are they to think?  Those bad seeds could very well cause problems for them, as they are already struggling, and now the devil can use those bad seeds to mess with them.  When they are really struggling and thinking on the good seed of encouragement you gave them, the devil can bring to mind your gossip (the bad seed) and tell them that your good words were garbage as well.

We need to be careful and purpose to only plant good seeds!  It truly is a wise thing to think that if you can't say something nice- don't say anything at all.  And that applies in ALL situations.  We need to guard our tongues and speak life- and plant good seeds.  We need to be especially mindful when we're talking about other people- even one instance of sharing something negative is a bad seed.

Reading Leviticus, sometimes it can get really long and drawn out because of all the rules and the laws being shared.  But the purpose of those laws is what keeps me reading.  The Israelites were a people set apart for God.  They were precious to God- His chosen children.  They needed to be able to live a life that was as pure and without blemish as possible- a righteous life, so that they could dwell in His presence.  The rules are strict, and sometimes seem a little crazy- like not planting two seeds.  Thankfully, for us, for Christians today, we don't have to follow all these same rules, because Jesus made the ultimate sacrifice for us.  He gave it all, so that life with God could be easier- it is more than possible to live a life without blemish, and we don't have to follow all kinds of crazy laws to do so.  But I think where people struggle the absolute most is with their mouths.  They say things without even realizing what they are saying.  Maybe if we gave intentional thought to the idea that every single word we speak could be a seed- we might be a little more careful.

God still wants His chosen children to be righteous and blemish free.  He even made it so much easier for us- but He wants us to watch the seeds that we both take into our lives- as well as the seeds that go out.  By watching what we take in, we're making it easier for His seeds of life and love to take root and be fruitful.  We don't need to worry about the bad seeds choking out the good seeds for a time.  And by watching what we sow, we're making it easier for Him to work in the lives of others around us.