s is he that heareth the word; and the care of the world, and
the deceitfulness of riches, choke the word, and he becometh
unfruitful. And he that was sown upon the good ground, this is he
that heareth the word, and understandeth it; who verily beareth
fruit, and bringeth forth, some a hundredfold, some sixty, some
thirty.--Matt. 13:3-8; 19-23.

This parable was intended to explain to the disciples why the Kingdom was
not coming with a rush, as they expected. The story embodies the practical
experiences of Jesus in his propaganda. He saw his work as a duplication
of the sower's work on a higher level. The success of both depends on the
receptiveness of the soil. The sower encounters hard trodden ground, rocky
patches, and spots where hardy thorns or thistles drain the soil and where
his work produces only empty ears and futile beginnings. So Jesus met the
stolid conservative and also the emotional type. But the climax of his
difficulties was a mind preoccupied by property worries, or lured by the
illusions of wealth. He early found, then, that devotion to property is
likely to be a rival to the higher interests and the common good.

How do modern social groups line up when measured by spiritual
receptiveness?

Second Day: The Accumulator

And one out of the multitude said unto him, Teacher, bid my
brother divide the inheritance with me. But he said unto him, Man,
who made me a judge or a divider over you? And he said unto them,
Take heed, and keep yourselves from all covetousness: for a man's
life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he
possesseth. And he spoke a parable unto them, saying, The ground
of a certain rich man brought forth plentifully; and he reasoned
within himself, saying, What shall I do, because I have not where
to bestow my fruits? And he said, This will I do: I will pull down
my barns, and build greater; and there will I bestow all my grain
and my goods. And I will say to my soul, Soul, thou hast much
goods laid up for many years; take thine ease, eat, drink, be
merry. But God said unto him, Thou foolish one, this night is thy
soul required of thee; and the things which thou hast prepared,
whose shall they be? So is he that layeth up treasure for himself,
and is not rich toward God.--Luke 12:13-21.

Most men today would have no fault to find with this man. He was only
doing what the modern