The Tragedy of the Dud

You ever heard of a “dud”? Do you know what that is? Last week we celebrated Frederick Douglass's resistance to America’s hypocrisy, others celebrated the Fourth of July. And while people ate their ribs, drank their drink, laughed and had a good time the main event is always the fire works. When I was younger my cousins and I would have loads of fire works. We would compete with the kids down the block on who had the best and the most fireworks. Today, on occasion we will by fire work for our kids although its illegal and more difficult now to do it in the city. (paint the picture up to the dud)

Nobody likes a dud. Something that was supposed to perform and serve its function but didn’t do what it was suppose to do. A dud. You know some duds, don’t you? People who have never lived up to their potential. Kids who grew up to be criminals, duds. (Run, duds)

Well, there is more bad news before we get to the good news. There are some church duds.

1. It Looks the Part (v.6)

The first problem is simultaneously the most obvious and most discreet. It looks the part. You can’t tell a dud by looking at it. The owner of the tree comes to the tree “looking” for figs. That means that because of the look of the tree he expected something to be there. The strange makeup of the fig tree is that it will bloom with leaves and sometimes flowers with the figs on it. Other times it will bloom with leaves and flowers with no figs. The season is right, the weather is right, the conditions are right, but you can’t judge a book by its cover.

2. It’s Immature (v.7a)

The reason why there is no fruit is because its not mature. And this maturity doesn’t have anything to do with its age, although it might, it has to do with its lack of development. For the church that means a lack of discipleship and time spent with Jesus. (Preach) I repeat the lack of production in the fig tree is due to its immaturity as a plant.

The owner of the tree, along with the vinedresser is well aware how fig trees work, so they understand that it is supposed to produce but it has yet to reach the level of maturation that the time would expect. In other words, its been in the vineyard too long to not bear fruit. In other words, you’ve been a christian too long to not act like Jesus. You’ve been in church too long not to know how to love your neighbor. You’ve been saved too long, not to want to see your friends saved.

3. It Wastes Space (v.7b)

The most troubling tragedy of the dud, is that it wastes space. The text has a interesting choice of words in v.7 the KJV uses a word encumber, it means to wastes space. The presence of the dud is toxic to the plants around it because it absorbs precious minerals that the other plants need to grow their fruit. The dud, literally takes life away from the other fruit bearing plants.

In life, in ministry, on the job, wherever you find yourself, please be careful not to find yourself around people who suck the life out of you. People who are there wasting space. People who are in office that shouldn’t be in office, wasted space. Leaders who shouldn’t lead, wasted space. Parents who should be trusted with kids, wasted space. Spouses.

The owner of the vineyard has a solution for this fake looking, immature, space wasting dud. He says enough is enough, “Cut it down!” Because the dud is better for fire wood than it is for fruit. Cut it down! Church, I know its not popular in 2023 to talk like this but the end of all duds is the axe at the root. If you don’t produce God will remove your position.

Do you know what happens to sports duds, they get cut.

Do you know what happens to plant duds, they get cut.

Do you know what happens to hair duds, split ends, they get cut.

Do you know what happens to duds. They get cut.

4. Jesus isn’t finished with you