“The thorny ground represents those who hear and accept the Good News but all too quickly the message is crowded out by the cares of this life, and the lure of wealth, so no crop is produced.”

Anyone who has worked in sales organizations or been a sales person, especially in software sales, knows what “O.T.E” means.  O.T.E. is what they work for and what they care about.  O.T.E. stands for “On Target Earnings”.  This is what a sales person would earn if she/he delivers all of their sales revenue, on target to their goal.  And so, O.T.E. becomes a very transparent and well-known number.  What is interesting is that we don’t have any issues with sales people knowing and being open with their O.T.E., but we get squeamish when those not in sales roles start talking about what they think they should earn. Instead of embracing that number and trying to figure out how to get someone to that target or something close, we will many times try to argue that number down or away.  And when that happens, then we run the risk of losing the spirit of commitment from that employee.

Jesus wasn’t against those who made money.  In fact, He and His disciples had to count on those who could support them as they ministered.  But, he was clear that when we allow Him and His message to get overwhelmed and crowded out by ways of the world, then we have set our priorities in the wrong order and put at risk that we miss out on what He is trying to give us.  So, we need to be sure that we have our targets set correctly.

Reference: Matthew 13:23 (New Living Translation)