THE HEART IS THE THING – The Thorny Hearted Person

   “And that which fell among thorns are they, which, when they have heard, go forth, and are choked with                            cares and riches and pleasures of this life, and bring no fruit to perfection.”  
                                                                            Luke 8:14 (KJV)

Kwame Kyekyeku one of the finest  Christian  leaders in one of the foremost tertiary institution in Ghana, met Akua Agyare, a second year zealous Christian sister during a University Christian Fellowship weekend service and immediately fell in love with her. Both Kwame and Akua were very faithful and committed members of the University Christian Fellowship; they read their bibles and pray on daily basis as recommended by the Holy book according to 1Thessalonians_5:17 (KJV) “Pray without ceasing.” and 1^st Peter_2:2  “As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby”, besides, they gave themselves to the Lord’s command of sharing the Gospel of the kingdom as well as fellowshipping with other Christians regularly as stated by the scriptures in  Mathew 28:19 and Hebrew 10:25.

Their growth in the Lord became evident to all and were gradually becoming good examples for young Christians. Some years down the line, they both graduated from the university and happily got married. Just like in the case of the average Ghanaian middle class family, both Kwame and Akua were faced with the pressure of the working world with its perplexing challenge of climbing the career ladder, the demanding task of raising their three kids and making time for the things of God such as having a regular quite time, daily prayer, sharing their faith as well as fellowshipping with other Christians. Moreover, the puzzle of beating the nagging traffic of the city of Accra always compels Kwame, Akua and their little kids to leave their suburban vicinity before 6am so as to avoid the usual rat race on the major streets of Accra. 

They would have to drop the kids off at school on their way to work and then jet off to their respective offices in downtown Accra. Coming back home after work, Kwame and Akua have to go through a reversal routine of picking their kids from school and then head back to their vicinity through the usual thick and snail pace traffic in the city, just like case of regular commuters. Kwame and Akua spend an average of 3 hours in traffic every day. After getting home, they have to help the kid’s do their homework and get to bed early so they can have enough rest and get into the daily routine the next day. 

After some months and probably a year passes, Kwame and Akua begin to notice a slow growth in their Christian walk; they go on for weeks and sometimes up to a month without reading their bible and praying as well as sharing their faith as the case was with them during their days on the University campus. As for fellowship, the weekly church attendance wasn’t like the fellowship they were used to in the past because they had to rush home right after church to get ready for the next week’s routine.

The bible said in Luke 8:7 “And some fell among thorns; and the thorns sprang up with it, and choked it.” and  Luke 8:14  “And that which fell among thorns are they, which, when they have heard, go forth, and are choked with cares and riches and pleasures of this life, and bring no fruit to perfection.”  Similarly to the case of Kwame and Akua, the cares of this world, the riches of this world as well as the pleasure of life are some of the challenges of a Thorny hearted Christian. These factors weighs against the ability of this category of Christians to be very productive in the hands of God; his inability to prioritize his spiritual engagement with his maker, above other necessary mundane routine such as building a career, securing his future, raising his kids among many other factors, has become a stumbling block to his spiritual growth. 

These challenges of life chocks and prevents the word of God that has been sown in their heart from growing. It is estimated that the average person living and working in Accra and other cities in Ghana spend about 3 hours in traffic, they also spend an average of 8 hours at the workplace and probably spend additional 8 hours sleeping so as to have enough rest. That leaves him with only 5 hours to spend with his family (helping kids with homework) have  his or her supper, watch his favorite’s telenovela, or football, among other mundane activities. Unknowingly or knowingly he forgets about making time for his creator, the one that gives him life and all that he is enjoying. This situation can go on for weeks and in some cases, months without him noticing it. 

This is exactly what Satan does to truncate our growth with God; he comes to sow tares that inhibits our ability to become fruitful according to Mathew 13:25 (KJV) “But while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat, and went his way.” The pressure of this world has a way of making a vibrant believer sleepy and thereby making way for Satan to sow tares in his or her life, thus making the blessings of the Creator a bane instead of a pulling factor to God. The cares of this world, the riches of this world as well as the pleasure of life are the potential tares in our lives as believers. It is the anxieties of life; the anxious thought, mainly about the "tomorrow,” such as – what are we going eat? When are we going to own a home? When are we climbing the pinnacle of the career ladder? When are we succeeding in ministry? 

When are we going for vacation abroad? When are we going to become successful and be recognized by society? Among other worldly reasons are the meditation and the constant burden on the heart of a Thorny hearted Christian. It is the fearfulness and the anxieties of the soul about the future that sucks the life of God out of him and robs him of divine peace. Although this person loves God, seeks to serve him, has the potential to grow and become fruitful, the weight of life won’t allow him to grow in the things of God. Instead of having hopeful, buoyant and productive Christian life, he is depressed and sad knowing he lives constantly in the valley of unproductivity as far as his usefulness to his maker comes to mind. 

Although a Thorny hearted person knows that he has all the proclivity to be like a city built on a hill top, his spiritual journey has been motionless for weeks, months and probably years because he has been over crowded by his own unsatisfactory life experiences and misplaced priorities. Moreover, instead of looking beyond the clouds above him to God where he can draw strength for life’s fulfillment and inner joy he always finds himself on the highway of chasing the wind in this fleeting world of ours. This group of believers chase after what they want, Instead of seeking first the kingdom of God and righteousness, as opined by our Lord Jesus Christ in Mathew_6:33 (KJV).

This challenge is similar to the one that confronts some ministers of the Gospel; a Thorny hearted Pastor’s major preoccupation is how to be successful in the eyes of men, and not how to be faithful to God. He will employ all the necessary means even if it is not godly to remain relevant and successful to men and not God. This kind of pastor always finds himself  under the trepidation of pleasing their fellow pastor and be accepted into the league of successful men of God, instead of getting the approval of heaven. Jesus approved of a good and faithful servant, not necessarily the successful one according to Mathew_25:21(KJV) “His lord said unto him, well done, thou good and faithful servant: thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord.” 

This group of pastors have a form of godliness, yet lack the power of God as a result of wanting to please men. They hardly read and study the bible for themselves as well as seek the face of God for their congregation, but they just read the bible so us to come and preach to the congregation, without having any personal conviction of what they are preaching. Some even go to the extent of copying already prepared messages on the internet without, spending time with the Holy Spirit regarding what he has for His congregation.

“The bane of a Thorny hearted Christian is the cares of this world, the riches of this life as well as the pleasures of life.”

TO BE CONTINUED NEXT WEEK WITH THE SUB TOPIC -“THE FERTILED HEARTED PERSON”…………..

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