But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against things like this. – Galatians 5:22-23 (CEB)

I am not much of a gardener. It is not that I have little skill in gardening (which is true), but I have little interest. I appreciate a beautiful garden. It creates the perfect atmosphere for a quiet walk or a place to read outdoors. I enjoy the fresh fruits and vegetables a garden can produce: strawberries and tomatoes, peppers and zucchini, potatoes and raspberries. The fruit of the garden is not my problem, it is the work. There are enough chores and responsibilities on my to-do list for me to find the gumption to garden. 

The good thing about the fruit of the Spirit is that it is fruit that does not come from our own work. Like everything else in the life of faith: it is grace.

In Galatians 5 we find a brilliant contrast between the works of the flesh and the fruit of the Spirit. The works of the flesh are things that come as the result of our own efforts: sexual immorality, impurity, debauchery, idolatry, jealousy, anger, factions, drunkenness, and the like. Paul easily could have labeled these attributes the sins of the flesh (for they are all sinful). But instead he calls them the works of the flesh.

Why?

Because the works of the flesh, while sinful, do not necessarily arise from sinful desires or attitudes. Our intentions and motivations may very well be pure: godliness, justice, morality. But when we try to accomplish these aims, as admirable as they may be, on our own strength (in the flesh), then sin is the result.

Working to do the right thing by the wrong means is still sin.

The works of the flesh is what happens when we try to live a life of obedience to God without the strength and power of God, without the work of the Holy Spirit.

The fruit of the Spirit, then, are not simply good virtues that we need to try to attain. This is the kind of life the Spirit produces in our life. When we are filled with the Spirit, when we are surrendered to the work and power of God, this is the result: love. The whole point is that this is not something we achieve, it is something we receive. It is grace.

The Spirit does the work in this garden.

That is the good news. But if we were to leave it there, we might assume that we can just sit back in the shade of the Spirit’s garden and let God do all the work. “Just wake me up, God, when you are done.”

But God rarely chooses to work on His own. The biblical story is the story of God accomplishing His purposes by calling unqualified women and men to be His co-laborers: Abraham and Sarah, Ruth and Boz, Mary and Joseph. God desires relationship with His people and all relationships require efforts from all parties.

So, yes, there is work for us to do in the garden of our lives. The Spirit does most of it. The Spirit grows the fruit (we cannot do that). But someone has to pull the weeds.

Weeds, if left unchecked, can take over a garden and choke out the good growth. In the same way, there are actions, attitudes, and habits in our lives that if left alone will make it difficult for the fruit of the Spirit to grow.

Our job in cultivating the fruit of the Spirit is to find the weeds that threaten their growth. What is there in our lives that is hindering the fruit the Spirit wants to grow?

The thing about weeds is that not all weeds are bad. Dandelions, for example, can be quite beautiful (and are actually safe to eat, so I am told). But no one wants a lawn or garden full of dandelions! They can quickly take over and thwart the beauty of the garden.

Many of the “weeds” in our lives are not necessarily bad things. The question to ask is not: is this good or bad, but is it a help or hindrance to the fruit of the Spirit?

So what are some potential weeds that we might need to pull from our lives?

Politics

I believe that it is good and wise to participate in politics. It is a way for us to seek the welfare of the city in which we are exiled. It can be a means of loving our neighbor (assuming we vote for the sake of our neighbor and not for the sake of ourselves). But how many of us become so engaged (and enraged) by political discourse that it turns us against our neighbor? For some of us, our engagement in politics makes it difficult for us to love those with whom we disagree, it makes it difficult for us to practice gentleness and self-control. While political engagement is fine and well, it is more important that the fruit of the Spirit grow in our lives. 

As hard as this is for some to believe, the Bible has little to say about the specifics of the policy disputes of 21st century America. To claim that your preferred political policies and platform are the only “Christian” or “biblical” option is absurd. There is lots of room for charitable debate and disagreement on how a Christian ought to vote. What is not up for debate is the fruit of the Spirit. What is not up for debate is the character we are to demonstrate as we engage in political discourse.

If our engagement in politics is choking out the Spirit’s growth, then this is a weed that we need to pull.

Entertainment

We live in a culture where we are “Amusing ourselves to death” (I am stealing this phrase from the title of the important book by Neil Postman). The amount of time and money spent on entertainment and the amount of options we have for entertainment reveal that we are a bored people. We do not know what to do with ourselves if we are not entertained every time we find a spare five minutes. Movies and television, social media and video reels, cheap novels and sporting events – these eat away at our time and attention, leaving us little room to be alone with our thoughts or present with the people around us.

It is not my intention to be a killjoy. I enjoy a good movie and a poorly written thriller novel. Most of my Sunday afternoons are spent in front of the TV watching a car race or football game. As is the unfortunate norm for my generation, I am more addicted to my smart phone than I would like to admit. I claim no moral high ground here, nor do I think that entertainment is wholly wrong or unsuitable for a Christian.

But this can very much become an invasive weed. While we are usually passive when we consume entertainment, it has an active role in shaping our imaginations and character. The urge to pull out the smart phone and scroll through video reels pushes against the fruit of self-control. The letdown after your team loses the big game threatens to choke out the fruit of joy. The time our entertainment takes away from community makes it difficult to learn to love.

These are weeds and we need to acknowledge and treat them as such.

Work

Work is a good thing. We were not made to be lazy couch potatoes. We were made in the image of God. God works and so we, His image bearers, work. Nevertheless, work is also an age old means of distracting ourselves from the relationships in our lives that need tending.

Rebecca DeYoung’s magnificent book on the seven deadly sins entitled, Glittering Vices, points out that the vice of sloth is sometimes marked by workaholism. One might think that if they work from sun up to sundown, sloth is not the sin in which they are in danger. DeYoung would argue that such work habits are a symptom of sloth. She writes, “Sloth has more to do with being lazy about love than lazy about our work.”¹

When I pour myself into my career, when I come home and emerge myself in household chores, then I do not have time or opportunity to engage with my wife and children. 

The fruit of the Spirit requires relationships. When work becomes a means of avoiding relationships, then it becomes a weed that needs pulling. This is not a weed that needs eradicating – we need to do some work. But we also need to ensure that it does not overwhelm the garden.

Final Thoughts

There are plenty of other weeds that can be named here. Most things in life can become a weed if we allow it to threaten the work God is trying to do. The Spirit is the key worker in this garden, we are merely the assistant. It takes prayerful and attentive work to notice those actions and habits in our lives that need to come under the control of the Spirit.

The good news is that if we watch and listen, the Spirit is faithful to guide us to see what weeds may need to be pulled, what weeds need to be eradicated, and what weeds need to simply be monitored. With time, patience, a little bit of water, and lots of care, the garden of our lives will, in God’s time, produce a bountiful harvest.

1. Rebecca Konyndyk Deyoung. 2020. Glittering Vices: A New Look at the Seven Deadly Sins and Their Remedies. Grand Rapids: Brazos Press, A Division Of Baker Publishing Group. Pg. 82.
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