During the spring, summer and early fall months many of us spend time outside mowing our lawns or gardening. Perhaps beautiful flowers and fragrant roses enhance the enjoyment of our properties. Or we may enjoy fresh vegetables such as a red tomato, yellow squash or green pepper. But there is one plant you will probably not appreciate if you find it on your property—the thistle.

The thistle is a perennial herb with a deep-seated, complex system of roots spreading horizontally, and these roots give rise to aerial shoots. The 1- to 4-foot tall stems are slender, green and freely branched. The heads are many and relatively small. You might identify them in your yard by their beautiful purple flowers.

Although the thistle does poorly in wet soils without much aeration, it can grow in a wide variety of soil types and can be found almost everywhere. If you are not familiar with thistles, you may think they are just another wildflower. However, once the thistle is established, its root system works to choke out surrounding plants.

Unfortunately, despite our efforts to combat this weed, thistles can be a problem for some of us in our lawns or gardens. But we can learn a great deal from this aggravating plant.

Like the thistle’s beautiful purple flowers, this world is also pretty on the surface. Satan works very hard to make this world we live in very alluring and captivating. Thistles choke out plants exactly the way Satan tries to choke or stifle our commitment to God. But we cannot let this world choke our relationship with God by letting it attract our attention or capture our affection.

Christ talked about this effect in the parable of the sower: “Now he who received seed among the thorns is he who hears the word, and the cares of this world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and he becomes unfruitful” (Matthew 13:22). The word thorns used by Christ describes very closely the plant we know as the thistle.

We are reminded by the apostle John we should “not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—is not of the Father but is of the world” (1 John 2:15-16). God strengthens us with His Holy Spirit so we can resist Satan’s pull and be filled with “the fruits of righteousness” (Philippians 1:9-11; Ephesians 3:14-19).

Getting to the root of the problem

The thistle is an incredibly tenacious plant. It mainly grows and spreads through its creeping horizontal roots that can even survive winters. It produces numerous shoots year after year and can survive indefinitely through the root system. The seedlings of thistle develop a fibrous taproot, and within a few months, the main root thickens and develops lateral roots that expand and spread. Eventually, aerial shoots with flowers then develop. What makes the thistle an obstinate weed is its ability to regenerate from just a small remaining piece of root.

Sadly, it doesn’t take much for Satan to plant his thistles in our minds. He knows our weaknesses and sends out small thoughts or attitudes for us to deal with. Each one may have a different germination rate. If we allow these thoughts to grow, they can choke out the fruit of God’s Spirit.

The apostle Paul tells us about a sad example of someone who became choked by this world, Demas. It seems he had been actively involved in the work of God with Paul and Luke, and he sent greetings to the Colossians (Colossians 4:14). But later in 2 Timothy 4:10, Paul says that “Demas has forsaken me, having loved this present world…” We must guard our minds from the thistle seeds that Satan spreads. Otherwise their roots will become deeply rooted, spreading in our minds.

Fortunately, thistles can be controlled and eradicated. By planting competitive crops such as alfalfa and forage grasses, and with repeated tillage or mowing for a few months, it is possible to get rid of thistles.

The lesson for us is that we should plant the truth of God constantly in our minds and “aerate” it with the Holy Spirit so Satan’s thistles cannot compete with our healthy root system of righteousness. Our minds should be renewed through the seeds of God’s Word as we live our lives in service to Him.

As the apostle Paul wrote, “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God” (Romans 12:1-2; see also Ephesians 4:17, 22-24).

We have to remain persistent in our pursuit of righteousness, despite whatever we may face in our lives. Satan will constantly try to destroy our commitment and faith in God. By rooting out the thistles possibly choking our growth, we may indeed bear fruit and produce “some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty,” as Christ said in Matthew 13:23.