Fruitfulness or Suffocation?

"And others are the ones on whom seed was sown among the thorns; these are the ones who have heard the word, but the worries of the world , and the deceitfulness of riches, and the desires for other things enter in and choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful. And those are the ones on whom seed was sown on the good soil; and they hear the word and accept it and bear fruit, thirty, sixty, and a hundredfold."   Mark 4:18-20 (NASB)

There are many ways to be fruitful.  When I see my children beginning to apply a new spiritual principle to their lives, I know I am being fruitful.  When I see a lightbulb come on in the mind of someone I have been discipling, I know I am being fruitful.  When I see a project come together or someone live out a lesson I have taught, I know I am being fruitful.  And, then there is the most obvious fruitfulness - when Christ's salvation is bestowed upon another life, and He has used me in the process, I know I am being fruitful.

 But, I look at these verses and I realize how many times I let the worries of the world, the deceitfulness of riches, and the desires for other things take over my heart.  Even things that seems noble, like justice and rights, grab ahold of me and choke out God's ability to work fruitfulness through me.

Just yesterday I inadvertently angered some people.  The truth is that at the beginning I had no idea I was frustrating anyone.  The further truth is that I was right in what I was doing and they shouldn't have been frustrated with me.  But, my immediate reaction was to stand up for what I considered to be my rights, and at that point I ceased being right.  It was a split-second reaction, and it was not a godly one.  So, in a situation where I could have shared the love of Christ and been a light for Him, I instead exacerbated the situation and caused the anger and frustration to grow. 

That's not bearing fruit.  That's killing it. And, that's not what the Lord wants from me. 

Prov 22:17-18 gives me the exact information I need to be fruitful - keeping the wisdom and knowledge of the Lord close to my heart and mind.  Will I choose to do what I need to do?  Will I be faithful?  Will my next encounter show fruit or will it show a life choked by the cares of the world?  My challenge is to fill my heart and mind with the nourishment of God that I may truly be a healthy, fruit-bearing child with no sign of worldly suffocation.