Matthew 13:25
“But while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat, and went his way.”
Several years ago, I worked for a package delivery company. Every night when we came to work, we had to walk past a guard station and show our identification badge to get on the property. Several nights in a row when we came to work, the guard inside the security station was asleep. It became a joke to those with whom I worked how safe we felt with that guard sleeping on his watch. What was a laughing matter to us could have been a dangerous matter had someone who wanted to do something wrong walked past that guard station. The guard was putting others at risk because he was sleeping on his watch.
In the verse above, Jesus told a parable about a man who sowed “good seed” in his field. The verse above says, “But while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat, and went his way.” Something is often missed when we read this parable. Every field had a watchman who was supposed to guard the field from the enemy. Apparently, the watchman was asleep on his watch, and that is why the field had tares. The tares would have never been sown had the watchman been awake.
Children are the field of every parent. Every parent must be careful that they are not asleep on their watch. The Devil is your child’s greatest enemy who you must guard against. If you are asleep on your watch as a parent, he will use influencers to sow tares in your child’s heart. Three thoughts can be learned from this parable about sleeping on your watch.
First, realize there is an enemy out to destroy your children. Parent, you cannot be asleep on your watch because there are people who will destroy your children if you are not parenting as you should. It is your responsibility to be sure your children are insulated from those enemies who would sow tares of wrong deeds and thoughts in their heart.
Second, it doesn’t matter how good the seed is if you are sleeping on your watch. You can teach your children the right thing, but if you are not watching who is influencing your children, you will be surprised one day when you start seeing the tares reveal themselves in their actions. You are going to have to watch their friends, teachers, and any other influence if you don’t want to have the seed of tares sown in their hearts. This means that you are going to have to be an active part of their lives to guard them from tares. You will regret being asleep on your watch when they become adults and the tares reveal themselves in their life.
Third, when you see the blade of tare spring forth in your child’s actions, quickly find where that influence came and remove it. There are going to be times when your children are influenced by an enemy, but don’t let it continue when you see the blade of tare reveal itself in their actions by the rolling of the eyes or a rebellious attitude. Do your job to find who is influencing them, and get that influence out of their life. It is better to remove the influence when it’s a seedling than it is when the tare has taken root in their heart.
Parent don’t be asleep on your watch. The Devil is the enemy who uses influences to sow tares in your child’s heart. Stay awake on your watch and ask the Holy Spirit to help you see those enemies who want to sow the tares in your child’s life so you can keep them from influencing your child.