Pulling The Tares

Peanuts and coffee weed - the leaves of the two are very similar. We learned that when we were very young.
Daddy grew quite a few acres of peanuts every year. We helped weed the peanuts. First was hoeing. When the plants were very young, we could hoe along the rows and in between the plants themselves. When they grew a little larger, we'd pull the coffee weed plants out by hand.
We'd miss quite a few because the leaves are so similar to each other.
As the peanut plants grew larger, the branches of the plant would lie on top of the ground. Little white growths would branch out from the stems, looking much like little roots. After these little white pegs grew into the ground, they started fattening up and each little peg turned into a peanut.
Once the small pegs started, it was the end of pulling weeds. The problem was simple. When the branches of the peanut plants were moved, it pulled the pegs out of the ground, they'd dry up, and the peanut would never form.
When coffee weeds were even larger, their root system was so huge that pulling a coffee weed would totally uproot several peanut plants. Once uprooted, the peanut plant dies and produces absolutely no fruit.
Because of this, it was important that we learn to distinguish the difference between a peanut plant and a coffee weed while they were young small plants. Weeds take nutrients and water meant for peanut plants and where there were weeds, peanut plants produced fewer peanuts. Removing coffee weeds early made a difference in the yield of the plants.
Because of my experience in the peanut fields, the story of the tares and the wheat made perfect sense to me. Although wheat doesn't put out small pegs, the yield of wheat would be less because of the tares (weeds) to the point, like in the parable (below), pulling the tares would uproot wheat plants too.
May I always recognize the weeds in my life before they have a chance to grow large enough to take from me what God is giving me for my spiritual growth.
Jesus told them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field. But while everyone was sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat, and went away. When the wheat sprouted and formed heads, then the weeds also appeared. “The owner’s servants came to him and said, ‘Sir, didn’t you sow good seed in your field? Where then did the weeds come from?’ “ ‘An enemy did this,’ he replied. “The servants asked him, ‘Do you want us to go and pull them up?’ “ ‘No,’ he answered, ‘because while you are pulling the weeds, you may uproot the wheat with them. Let both grow together until the harvest. At that time I will tell the harvesters: First collect the weeds and tie them in bundles to be burned; then gather the wheat and bring it into my barn.’ ”

E.E.L.Smith