24 He put another parable before them, saying, “The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a man who sowed good seed in his field, 25 but while his men were sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat and went away. 26 So when the plants came up and bore grain, then the weeds appeared also. 27 And the servants of the master of the house came and said to him, ‘Master, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then does it have weeds?’ 28 He said to them, ‘An enemy has done this.’ So the servants said to him, ‘Then do you want us to go and gather them?’ 29 But he said, ‘No, lest in gathering the weeds you root up the wheat along with them. 30 Let both grow together until the harvest, and at harvest time I will tell the reapers, “Gather the weeds first and bind them in bundles to be burned, but gather the wheat into my barn.”’” ~ Matthew 13:24-30
Parents are currently taking their young children to see a new movie without even checking to see what it’s about first. Now, you may be wondering: what’s the big deal if they don’t research every single movie before taking their kids to see it? The film they’re taking their young children to see is a horror film. It’s a dark what-if spin on Barney. How is this happening?
Parents see a cute unicorn in a show with some smiling kids that gives the same feels as Barney did, and so they take them to see it. No checking first. No reading what the film’s about. Nothing. Just looking at a cover image of the film and thinking it looks cute. Christians are a lot like this. Having the appearance of goodness doesn’t make something good. Having the appearance of innocence doesn’t make it innocent. It’s not about the outside alone, but about the inside.
We are spiritual beings living in both a physical and spiritual world. We can’t just live our lives by, it looks safe, so it must be safe. No. We have to research. We have to pay attention. We are in a spiritual war right now. It doesn’t matter how good the beat sounds or how catchy the song is; what do the words say? What are the people singing that song saying? We, as Christians, have to be like the LORD, especially when it comes to discernment. We don’t just look at outward appearance, but we look at the heart.
We don’t just take someone’s word for it, we look at their fruit. We pay attention to what is being sold to us, and we don’t always have to buy everything they try to sell to us. Our enemy disguises himself as an angel of light; why would his followers not do the same? We have to stay awake. We have to stay vigilant. We have to pay attention and be watchful, for evil is sown while good men sleep.
Peace. Love. Go Forth and Look Past The Cute Unicorn.