The Dangers of Bamboo

Guarding your heart from the temptation of sin

My grandparents have a beautiful garden in their backyard that they’ve spent countless hours and dollars cultivating. To provide a nice background against the fence, they decided to plant some bamboo.

But what they didn’t realize was that bamboo can grow 1.5 inches an hour, or almost 3 feet a day. To make matters worse, like a weed, the roots grow thick and spread out, meaning it doesn’t stay where you planted it but quickly spreads everywhere.

My grandparents quickly realized their mistake when bamboo shoots began to appear through the yard, and the neighbors yard, and the other neighbors yard… But it was too late, the plant had already taken root. What was supposed to be as few shoots was now a forest of bamboo.

Battling the invasive plant became a daily struggle for my grandfather. He tried everything from digging up the roots to various poisons. But the seed had been planted and they’d regularly find a new shoot in some random place in the yard.

This is why the Bible repeatedly warns us to guard our hearts, thoughts, and actions. As easy as it is to give into our strongest, animalistic passions in the moment, once the seed is planted, it takes root. Weakness in a singe moment can lead to a daily battle with that desire.

Porn, lust, laziness, a lying tongue, dwelling on anger or fear, these habitual sins didn’t start out that way. They began as a single lie or moment of passion. But the root spreads to every area of our lives.

“Keep your eyes focused on what is right, and look straight ahead to what is good. Be careful what you do… Don't turn off the road of goodness; keep away from evil paths.” Proverbs 4:25-27

But we are not without hope, remember that we can overcome the bamboo by ripping up the root whenever a shoot pops up, it’s a long journey, but through help from the Holy Spirit, you will see less and less of it.

And when temptation sprouts, we dwell on scripture and truth:

“Whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely…think on these things.” Philippians 4:8