The Parable of the Weeds among the Wheat (Matthew 13:24-30) is widely considered to be one of the most difficult parables that Jesus ever told. It isn’t difficult to understand necessarily; but it is exceedingly difficult to accept. After all, what farmer—upon discovering that weeds are suddenly sprouting up amidst the wheat—does not immediately want to begin pulling them?

And yet, this is precisely what the parable counsels us against doing. Instead, we are urged to wait until the harvest—which is a rather stunning statement, when you think about it, because if the weeds represent evil, then what this parable seems to be advocating is passivity.

Passivity in the face of evil? Shouldn’t we be doing everything in our power to rid the world of evil?

However, from what I can tell, there are at least three good reasons why we need to refrain from hasty weed pulling. In the first place, most of us are not skillful enough to distinguish weeds from wheat. And even if we could, when the roots become intertwined, the collateral damage increases considerably. Simply put, in yanking up the weeds, we usually end up doing more harm than good.

A second reason to let the weeds grow is that, one day, they may turn out to be useful. In first-century Palestine, lumber and coal were expensive and hard to come by; the best source of fuel was dried weeds. Hence, by allowing the weeds and wheat to grow together, farmers had almost everything they needed to make bread—wheat for the flour and weeds for the fire. The only other thing required was a little patience, as they waited for the harvest.

Lastly, people who start extracting weeds prematurely always run the risk of becoming a little like weeds themselves. It’s actually one of the trickiest things that weeds do, getting the wheat so riled up, and on the defensive, that they begin resorting to tactics that don’t display much love or Christian charity. Better to wait until the harvest and let God sort it out.

So are we to remain passive in the face of evil? Not by a long shot! There is still plenty for us to do. But rather than devoting all of our time and energy to the destruction of weeds, I believe that our primary job is simply to be wheat, and to bear witness to the One who planted us as such. If we give ourselves over to that task, then God will take care of the rest!