Matthew 13:24-33: Premature Optimization is the Root of All Evil (or at least most of it)

Jesus told them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field. But while everyone was sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat, and went away. When the wheat sprouted and formed heads, then the weeds also appeared.

“The owner’s servants came to him and said, ‘Sir, didn’t you sow good seed in your field? Where then did the weeds come from?’

“‘An enemy did this,’ he replied.

“The servants asked him, ‘Do you want us to go and pull them up?’

“‘No,’ he answered, ‘because while you are pulling the weeds, you may uproot the wheat with them. Let both grow together until the harvest. At that time I will tell the harvesters: First collect the weeds and tie them in bundles to be burned; then gather the wheat and bring it into my barn.’”

He told them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and planted in his field. Though it is the smallest of all seeds, yet when it grows, it is the largest of garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds come and perch in its branches.”

He told them still another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like yeast that a woman took and mixed into about sixty pounds of flour until it worked all through the dough.” - Matthew 13:24-33

It was one of the pioneers of programming, Donald Knuth, who said: “The real problem is that programmers have spent far too much time worrying about efficiency in the wrong places and at the wrong times; premature optimization is the root of all evil (or at least most of it) in programming.” Premature optimization is spending a lot of time on something that you may not actually need. 

In Jesus' parable, rooting out the weeds too early is premature optimization, because although it has some benefits-like give more room, sunlight and nutrients-it risks disrupting the outcomes for the most important resource--the wheat. The servants ask if they can just deal with the problem "efficiently" but Jesus says it is the wrong place and wrong time. If the "weed reduction" uproots  the wheat, then the dead wheat becomes just as bad as a weed--feeding no one. Maybe  our focus should be more on fertilizing the wheat rather than round-upping the weeds and trust that God's good DNA will bring them through. 

I also wonder if God intends that some of those "weeds" may turn out to be wild grains. Or maybe God intends sneak a few good seeds into that which the devil sowed.