In this Sunday’s gospel reading from Matthew 13:24-43, Jesus reveals quite a bit about our lives here on Earth. With the following parable, Christ explains why there is evil among us, and why it can’t simply be removed.

“The kingdom of heaven may be likened
to a man who sowed good seed in his field.
While everyone was asleep his enemy came
and sowed weeds all through the wheat, and then went off.
When the crop grew and bore fruit, the weeds appeared as well.
The slaves of the householder came to him and said,
‘Master, did you not sow good seed in your field?
Where have the weeds come from?’
He answered, ‘An enemy has done this.’
His slaves said to him,
‘Do you want us to go and pull them up?’
He replied, ‘No, if you pull up the weeds
you might uproot the wheat along with them.
Let them grow together until harvest;
then at harvest time I will say to the harvesters,
“First collect the weeds and tie them in bundles for burning;
but gather the wheat into my barn.”

Now we have an excuse not to pull weeds, right? Jesus then explains that the harvest at the end of the season will be like the end of time for us, and then goes on to explain:

“The Son of Man will send his angels,
and they will collect out of his kingdom
all who cause others to sin and all evildoers.
They will throw them into the fiery furnace,
where there will be wailing and grinding of teeth.”

It’s not too popular these days to refer to a judgmental God. But like it or not, God has always made it clear — we must do good, by His standards, in order to achieve salvation. What Jesus reveals to us in this passage though, is even more specific. Not only are evildoers condemned, but “all who cause others to sin” as well.

This might be an even more unpopular thought. Can we actually cause others to sin? Don’t we all have freewill? Aren’t we all responsible for our own choices? Well ultimately, yes. But we can certainly influence the way others feel, and cause them to be tempted — thereby making it more likely that they will fall into sin. Jesus clearly tells us that this act will bring us condemnation. So how do we avoid it?

One easy way is Modesty. If we practice modesty in the way that we dress and the way that we talk, we can do a great deal to avoid bringing others to sin. Tight or revealing clothing is specifically designed to elicit some sort of response out of the other sex. So why wear it if we stand a chance of tempting another soul? Vanity? Pride? Are vanity and pride more important than salvation? Talking in a lewd manner with a group of friends can also incite lust. What is gained? Our pride is strengthened and our bond with God is weakened.

It’s not always clear who are the weeds and who is the wheat, and God has given us the freedom to change between the two. What is clear is that those who strive to serve God, while trying to lead others to Him rather than away from Him, stand a much better chance in the afterlife.

So quit pulling weeds. Instead, try changing them into wheat.