It was November 17, 2023, at 3:30 am when I suddenly woke up with a word on my mind. That word was NEMATODES. (God was planting the seed for this message a year later.) Chances are you have no idea what the word means. It’s been over 60 years since I heard the word, nematodes. I remember it was late spring, after the rice & soybeans had been planted and dad was making his usual rounds walking through each field checking on his crop. Dad didn’t just walk along but would stop from time-to-time and check the leaves…digging in the dirt to check the moisture…he knew what he was looking for. On this day, he saw something in the soybean leaves that bothered him. It was later determined the field had nematodes, a “microscopic, averaging less than a millimeter in length… you can’t see them, but lurking under your soil are many different species of plant-parasitic nematodes devouring the roots that a healthy crop requires.” (Google) The problem with nematodes is when you find the yellow leaves, it’s too late.

We all have nematodes. God calls it sin. Jesus clarified sin in two unique relationship categories. It happened when one of the Jewish leaders thought he could outsmart Jesus. Let’s listen to the conversation. “One of them (Pharisees), an expert in the law, tested Him (Jesus) with this question: “Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?” Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.” Matthew 22:35-40.

Let’s focus on what Jesus said. Notice Jesus did not respond with a checkoff list of “jobs or good deeds” but a single focus. It’s a heart matter. It’s about having a heart relationship with “the Lord your God” and our “neighbor.” The First Commandment “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind” is the vertical relationship that enables or sets up the horizonal relationship found in the Second Commandment, “Love your neighbor as yourself.” Loving God with all your heart gives us the desire & power to love the difficult people that come into our lives. Notice Jesus did not give any exemptions. So, guess what? That’s everyone, even the people that have done you wrong or you don’t like. If you think this is too extreme, look at what Jesus did at the cross. (See Luke 23:34)

We are born with nematodes in our life. You may respond, “surely not a precious little baby!” But yes. Every precious baby I know displayed their nematodes of self-centeredness. Babies demand to be fed, changed, loved, when, where and how they want it. As we grow up our nematode morphs into a heart of independence. We become more competitive, judgmental, unforgiving, critical, and prideful. If we don’t get “our way,” there’s trouble. The sin of self-centeredness shapes how we see everything. It shapes our behavior with family, friends, work, church…everyone who comes in our path. We get upset when our “Happy Meal” is not the way we want it. Paul David Tripp writes in his book, Reactivity, “Sin shrinks my concerns down to my desires. It’s me in the center, It’s me in control, and It’s me writing the rules.”

I am amazed at how God works. The draft for this “Today’s Good News” was written several days before Pastor Rod Loy gave his message (FirstNLR.com), “Buckle Up.” He used the scripture God gave Paul about a Believers heart. In Romans 12:1-2, “Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. Do not conform to the pattern of this world but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.”

Remember the nematodes in my dad’s field? They are microscopic, unnoticeable. A farmer must be vigilant & constantly looking for threats and so do we. The sin of self-centeredness lies below the surface. We rationalize our choices that produce our behaviors/actions.

Using Paul’s definition, of “testing” for self-centeredness, what do the signs in your life reveal about who you serve?

World’s Way	God’s Way
Anxiety & Fear	Confidence & Faith
Anger & Judgmental	Joy & Forgiveness
Drama & Turmoil	Peace & Focus
Hopeless	Full of Hope

Ignoring the signs will not make the nematodes of self-centeredness go away. You can’t do it yourself with a home remedy. If you see the yellow leaves of fear, anger, hopelessness, only Jesus has the “transforming” power of a “Life to the Full.” (John 10:10). It His No-Matter-What Power!

What will you choose?