Redirected Love

The enterprising farmers of Enterprise, a Herald of Prosperity that stop bugging others, and the importance of repentance.

This year, we are learning to love better by exploring the greatest commandment – Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength.  We’ve looked at the parts of our lives that are typically associated with love – our heart, soul, and mind, but now we need to finish the journey by investigating how to love with all our strength.  Weak love isn’t much love at all.  Real love is made of sterner stuff, and if we are going to love better, we need to learn how to love with ALL our strength.  Today, is the last in a five-part series on how to have strong love, and today, we will finish out the year by talking about the strength to change directions… because we can’t be strong if we don’t know how to pivot when we are wrong.

"Remember, you are loved, so go, love better!"

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Transcript

            The city of Enterprise, Alabama has grown since 1911, it is now a modest small city boasting a population of around 30,000, but in 1911 the town was barely a flicker of that with approximately 1,000 people living in and around Enterprise, Alabama… and almost all of the townsfolk were farmers.  Cotton farmers to be precise.

            In the early 1900’s cotton was the largest export in the United States and the mainstay of the southern economy.  At one point, 75% of all cotton in the world was produced by America.  States like Alabama depended on the cotton industry and the good folks of Enterprise were no exception.  Situated in Coffee County, the farmland around Enterprise was perfect for cotton production.  Coffee county soil was sandy, and well-drained and that is perfect for cotton… although difficult for many other crops to tolerate.

            So, the city of Enterprise, like many other towns across Alabama purchased a cotton gin for themselves and encouraged all the local farmers to grow and bale cotton to export and feed the Industrial Revolution’s growing demand for King Cotton.

            Yet, when you visit the town of Enterprise today, it isn’t cotton that is given the praise.  Instead, if you travel to Enterprise, Alabama, you will find  in the center of town a statue of a Greek woman proudly holding aloft a large stone bowl and you will never guess what is inside.  That woman, representing the fates of all Enterprise is holding high above her head a bowl full of boll weevil.

I’m Scott Beyer and this is the Love Better podcast where we explore the truths and lies about love and more importantly how to turn love into a skill – something we can get better at and hone along the way. 

This year, we are learning to love better by exploring the greatest commandment – Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength.  We’ve looked at the parts of our lives that are typically associated with love – our heart, soul, and mind, but now we need to finish the journey by investigating how to love with all our strength.  Weak love isn’t much love at all.  Real love is made of sterner stuff, and if we are going to love better, we need to learn how to love with ALL our strength.  Today, is the last in a five-part series on how to have strong love, and today, we will finish out the year by talking about the strength to change directions… because we can’t be strong if we don’t know how to pivot when we are wrong.

            The boll weevil of Enterprise fame is an insect and a nefarious one at that.  The boll weevil is a small beetle about the size of a pencil eraser, with a long snout that looks a bit like a tiny elephant trunk. It feeds on cotton plants, and its favorite snack is the cotton boll—the soft, fluffy part where the cotton fibers grow.

Think of it like a mischievous little pest that sneaks into a cotton field, bites into the cotton bolls, and ruins them, making it impossible for farmers to harvest their cotton. It caused so much damage to cotton crops in the early 1900s that the chief of the USDA testified before congress that the boll weevil outbreak was a, and I quote, “wave of evil” that needed to be eradicated.

Boll weevils entered the U.S. from Mexico in the late 1800s, when they were first spotted in Texas. By the 1920s they had spread through all of the major cotton-producing areas in the country. The scope of the damage was backbreaking for cotton farmers.

To give perspective – since its introduction to the United States in 1892, the boll weevil has cost the American cotton industry more than $23 billion in losses and eventually spurred the first nationwide farm legislation to eradicate a pest in U.S. history.  At one time, one-third of the insecticide used in the U.S. was used to combat boll weevils. Within 5 years of contact, total cotton production declined by 50%

And yet, on the plaque that accompanies the city of Enterprise’s Boll Weevil monument it simply says:

In profound appreciation of the Boll Weevil and what it has done as the Herald of Prosperity.

Herald of Prosperity?  The people of Coffee County truly adored their beloved boll weevil.

Because while all the rest of the farmers kept trying to grow cotton and eradicate the weevil… the enterprising folks of Enterprise chose to eradicate the cotton and embrace a brand-new direction.

When the insects eat the cotton, the solution is simple - stop growing cotton.

A man named, H.M. Sessions, was a prominent citizen in Enterprise and acting as a seed broker, he enticed local farmers to grow peanuts instead.  It started with one farmer taking the plunge into the peanut trade and by 1917, pretty much all of Coffee County traded in their cotton woes for a peanut harvest.  In a county named Coffee, they worked for peanuts.  History is always stranger than fiction.

By 1919, Coffee County became the largest producer of peanuts in the country, all because the farmers had the faith and the vision to put their hand to a different plow.

There is a word, found throughout the New Testament and it is a word that makes us uncomfortable to even hear it uttered.  The word is “REPENT”

When Jesus began His ministry He began to preach, saying, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand." (Matthew 4:17 ESV)

And when asked why people die and suffer, Jesus didn’t give an easier or comforting answer, instead He said, “No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish." (Luke 13:1-5 ESV)

The very first sermon Peter ever preached after the resurrection: "Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins” (Acts 2:38 ESV)

And the apostle Paul… his message was exactly the same, “The times of ignorance God overlooked, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent” (Acts 17:30 ESV)

And why?  Why is this message of repentance so prominent throughout the New Testament?   Again, we need only turn to Jesus to find the answer:

Those whom I love, I reprove and discipline, so be zealous and repent. (Revelation 3:19)

The God who loves us, calls us to repentance.  And why are love and repentance so inextricably tied together?  Because if you have ever tried to love anybody, you’ve learned that you have to change to make the relationship stronger.  And that is what repentance is – it is a change of mind that leads to a change of behavior.  And you can’t learn to love better without having the strength to say “this isn’t working, I’m going to change”

Imagine a marriage where each spouse rigidly remained exactly as they were before they said, “I do.”  What was meant to be a dance turns into a rigid standoff between two parties each claiming, “they knew what they were marrying”

Or parents that unwaveringly discipline and train each child exactly the same way as the others without factoring in different personalities, ages, or the context of the situation.  I have nine kids, and they are all opposites.  What works with one will catastrophically fail with another.

If we are going to love with all our strength, we need to be strong enough to learn from our failures and adapt.

And not only is that vital to spiritual growth and personal success – it is crucial to love.

Consider the parable of two brothers that Jesus tells in Matthew 21.

"What do you think? A man had two sons. And he went to the first and said, 'Son, go and work in the vineyard today.' And he answered, 'I will not,' but afterward he changed his mind and went. And he went to the other son and said the same. And he answered, 'I go, sir,' but did not go. Which of the two did the will of his father?" They said, "The first." Jesus said to them, "Truly, I say to you, the tax collectors and the prostitutes go into the kingdom of God before you. (Matthew 21:28-31)

In the account of these two sons – the first son initially was rebellious, but later “he changed his mind” – you know what another word for “change your mind” is? REPENT

The son that repented turned it around and became obedient to his father.  The relationship was mended through repentance.  On the other hand, the son that said he would but didn’t had a deeper problem – he knew what to do but refused to use his strength on behalf of his father.  You can’t love in word, but not in deed.  Loving with all your mind, but without your strength just isn’t good enough.

The message of the Bible is the message of the boll weevil – sometimes things go wrong and when they do, you’ve got to embrace the change you need to make… and just like the farmers of Enterprise, the sooner you do it, the better.  Those who switched crops fastest, received the largest benefit to the change.  Those who waited longer, suffered longer, too.

And that’s how repentance works.  If what you are doing isn’t working – don’t continue to waste your time on a bad idea.  There is even a term for when someone wastes their time because they have already invested so much into a bad idea – it’s called the Sunk Cost Fallacy… and you’ve probably done it a thousand times.

Ever start watching a movie and continue to watch it even though it is really awful.  Maybe you tell yourself, “I paid for this movie” or “I need to see how it turns out”… and in the end you waste hours of your time instead of minutes.

It is the same reason gamblers keep playing to “win back their losses” even though continuing to play increases their losses.

Or how about that all-you-can-eat buffet, you continue eating despite being full because you “already paid for it.”   You eat until discomfort even though rational thinking tells you to push away from the table.

In our family, we have a saying, “Beyers don’t quit”  My wife and I have tried to build a family identity of survivors and achievers.  We want our kids to work hard, strive for improvement, and not to give up when the going gets hard… but I have to tell you, wisdom required me to modify that saying when I started seeing my kids have character that looked a lot more like stubbornness then grit and determination.  The new saying around our house has been extended.  It is now “Beyers don’t quit anything but bad habits.”  Because in the Beyer household, we decided you are allowed to quit being dumb.

Another aspect of the Boll Weevil events of Coffee County, Alabama is that the things that bug us isn’t just about stopping sinful things, it is also about embracing discomfort and new things.

Jesus called fishermen to leave their nets and become fishers of men instead.  He invited rich men to sell their possessions and follow Him.  He transformed Jewish rabbis into Gentile evangelists and He built His church out of souls from every walk of life and then called them to love each other.

That sort of change doesn’t come easy.  To be different we must embrace differences and accept that new phases of life are exactly that – new.

Moses was driven out of Egypt, he fled into the wilderness and then God called him back into Egypt and then he led an entire nation back into the wilderness again – his life was a regular rollercoaster of change.  Abraham left his homeland for a land he had not seen. David was a shepherd, a soldier, a fugitive, an expatriate, and a king all in one lifetime.  Esther went from orphan to queen, and I don’t even have time to talk about all the changes people like Daniel, Jeremiah, or Elijah went through.  They saw the rise and fall of empires over the course of their lifetime.

And throughout all those changes of scenery, they let God direct them where they needed to be… so instead of destroying them, the changes transformed them instead.

And that’s the challenge for us when it comes to loving with all our strength: embracing the change we need, rather than stubbornly clinging to what isn’t working. Just like the farmers of Enterprise, we need the humility to admit when we’ve been wrong and the courage to try something new. Change is hard. It takes strength to turn away from familiar patterns, even if they’re failing us, and walk in a new direction.

The truth is, God rarely calls us to a life of static comfort. Loving with all our strength doesn’t mean digging our heels into the ground and refusing to budge; it means being willing to pivot when God says, “This isn’t the way. Follow me instead.” It means recognizing that real love doesn’t stay stagnant. It grows. It adapts. It repents.

Think about the Apostle Paul. Here was a man who thought he was doing everything right. A Pharisee of Pharisees, zealous for the traditions of his fathers, Paul was convinced he was serving God by persecuting Christians. He was absolutely certain of his direction… until Jesus met him on the road to Damascus and stopped him in his tracks. In that moment, Paul had a choice: he could cling to his “sunk costs”—his years of training, his reputation, his religious pride—or he could repent, change direction, and follow Christ. Thankfully, Paul chose the latter. He let go of his old life and embraced the new, becoming one of the greatest champions of the gospel the world has ever known.

But let’s not miss this: Paul’s repentance wasn’t just a one-time event. His life after conversion was marked by continual change, growth, and humility. In Philippians 3, Paul writes:

“But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 3:13-14)

Paul knew that to love God with all his strength, he couldn’t afford to live in the past—whether that past was filled with failures or accomplishments. He had to press on, to pivot when necessary, to keep moving forward in faith.

And that’s true for us as well. Whether we’re weighed down by past mistakes or tempted to rest on past successes, loving God with all our strength means straining forward, even when it’s hard. 

So what about you? What are the fields in your life that aren’t producing any fruit? Are there habits, attitudes, or relationships that need to change? Are there places where you’re holding on too tightly to what used to work, instead of redirecting your energy in a healthier direction?

Most of the time in life the things that frustrate us the most are also the greatest opportunities – so find your “boll weevil” God can, and will, use even the things that bug us to lead us to something better. But it starts with repentance. It starts with the strength to say, “I’m ready to change.”

The farmers of Enterprise could have seen the boll weevil as the end of the line, but instead, they saw it as an opportunity for a fresh start. And because they had the courage to change direction, their city prospered.

The same is true for us. Where do you need to repent, to pivot, to turn back toward Him? Don’t wait. Don’t let pride or fear hold you back. Because the sooner you embrace the change, the sooner you’ll be transformed.

Learn to love better.  Learn to redirect your strength and embrace your boll weevils.

I’m going to take about a month off with the podcast to ring in the New Year.  I’m excited for next year, so stay tuned for next year’s plans with the podcast.  This year, the podcast has grown in ways I never could have imagine, and I am so grateful for all of you who listen and share with others.  Normally, this would be the part where I would ask you to share or leave a review to help us reach more people, but today, I just want to say thank you because you have shared and we have reached more people and I couldn’t do what I do without you.  Thank you.

In other news, between now and the New Year, look for a refreshed look to the BibleGrad.com website making it easier to navigate and hopefully providing better access to tools for your personal Bible study.

And if you are ever in the Louisville, KY area, I’d like to invite you to come worship with me and my family at the Eastland congregation.  We meet for worship every Sunday and have Bible classes for all ages on Wednesdays, too.  If you want more information about Eastland, visit us at eastlandchristians.org.  We would love worship God with you and help you on your walk of faith.

And as always, until next time, “Remember, you are loved, so go… love better.”