Nature vs. Nurture

© 8/10 Angela Beatty

Proverbs 27:17

As iron sharpeneth iron, so a man

sharpeneth the countenance of his friend.

Have you ever noticed the difference between wild apples and those picked from an orchard? As I was walking through Oil Creek State Park I noticed quite a few wild apple trees growing and didn't spot one perfectly apple shaped apple. Just like the apples in the wild trees that grew behind my house for 17 years, each of these were misshapen or blighted in some way.

In an orchard, trees are planted an exact distance apart so that they receive the correct amount of sunlight. They are pruned of dead branches that block the sunlight. Their leaves are dusted to kill the bugs that would destroy the fruit. A lot of effort is made so that the tree can put all of it's strength into producing good fruit.

In the wild an apple tree doesn't have nice straight branches. They are often twisted in their quest to reach for the sunlight because nearby trees or dead branches often block sunlight. The tree endures blights and is invaded by insects. Instead of nice perfectly round fruit, it produces knobby and wormy apples.

What about us? Does our environment matter? Child psychologists have long debated the effect environment plays on the development of a child. I'm convinced that it has an impact. That's why I chose Christian school for my children. And it's why I need to carefully consider my own environment. Do my friends encourage me to be fruitful or do they blight my attempts to grow? Am I growing in my place of employment, or have I become stunted? What about my Christian walk? Do I attend a church where sinful branches are pruned out of my life to give me freedom to grow straight and tall spiritually?

Sometimes it pays to walk through my personal orchard and see how things are growing there.