Thorny soil (The Sower and the seed Matthew 13:1-23)

Thorny soil (The Sower and the seed Matthew 13:1-23)
As kids you do not always understand when your parents are very cautious about who you are hanging out with. They want details of who they are, where they are from, who their parents are, are they a good student, who are their siblings, etc. You do not understand why they want to know all this stuff about who you are spending your time with but as you get older you start to realize that the company you keep has a major impact on your actions. If your inner circle is full of people who do not take their schoolwork seriously and are constantly cutting school, then you are likely to fall in line with their actions. On the other hand, if you are always hanging out with honor students who are heavily involved in after school activities then they are likely to pull you in the same direction. When Jesus speaks of the thorny soil in the parable of the Sower and the Seed (v. 7 and v.22) these are those who hear the word of God but everything around them makes it difficult, the environment and people they surround themselves with simples chokes it right out of them.
The pressure of this world just surrounds them, and they elevate the things of this world over the things of God’s kingdom. Peer pressure cause them to turn their priorities into that of selfish desires instead of seeking the kingdom of God over all else. They pursue wealth, prosperity, relationships, and possessions that push them away from God; they simple choose to chase after the world instead of after God. It is so easy for anyone to find themselves in the thorny ground soil because our society paints a beautiful picture of what our lives should be like and what we should be pursuing but it is all a lie. The world wants us to believe that success is judged by what we own and how much we have in our bank accounts instead of the truth that we are judged on how well we know and love our Creator. When we start to want the things the world wants, look the way the world looks, and turn a blind eye to the wrong in the world around us then the thorns have already begun to choke us. As believers we have understand we can choose who and what we allow to be around us and have influence over our lives, we do not have to be surrounded by thorns. We can choose who and what we allow to have influence over our lives.