Seeds can't germinate on hard, crusty ground. The soil has to be broken up.
Growth in spirituality follows a similar rule. Breaking up long-held materialistic attitudes makes us more receptive to spiritual truth. It lets the spiritual perfection we all have as children of God come to the surface and bloom.
We often don't realize how hard and crusty our mental soil may have become. Pride may adamantly rebel at self-correction. Living with a particular fear may seem easier than out-growing it. Or we may be comfortable with a material view of ourselves.
