Are You Reaping What You’ve Sown?

Great question! So many times in life we find ourselves feeling that somehow we are being wrongfully treated and we can’t for the life of us figure out why this is happening to us. The question posed is did you play arole in your current circumstances? Have your recent, potentially even past actions contributed to your current situation? Let’s take a look in our past and see what we can discover? My first caution is not to look exactly at yours, but take a glimpse over all that you have inflicted on someone else. It’s important to know that it is not necessarily tit for tat in our experiences, you could have done something and your heart was so cold and unfeeling in a different situation than what you currently find yourself faced with, and yet that callous attitude you showed toward another is now being reaped (experienced) in your life. For instance, have you hastily judged another person, not even hastily but simply took a hard line as to what your thoughts were about the actions of another? Understand even if their actions were wrong were you quick to condemn unequivocally? Did you gossip about someone to another? Have you taken what did not belong to you, but belonged to another? Did you criticize? Did you look at what the media says about someone and accept what they say as the truth then ran with it? Do you hear something about someone and make the judgment that it must be the truth? The questions are endless, but necessary. I pose these questions because there is consistent nature within humankind that I want mercy for myself but justice for others. If we are accused of something we tend to want others to give us the benefit of the doubt but we refuse to give that same consideration to others. If someone is driving and happens to be going too slow, makes a sudden move, or cuts you off, do you automatically assume that it was intentional and then mean mug them? Isn’t it quite possible that they simply made a mistake? Can’t we function in a spirit of mercy and forgiveness instead of condemnation and mean-spiritedness?

Reaping what you sow. Most of us scripturally are told that we will reap what we sow, reap more than what we’ve sown. Point in case – you take one seed and plant it and you yield a crop, while it was only one seed you yielded a greater harvest. That’s the example for our lives, we might do something considered small and yet we reap something much more strenuous than what we inflicted.  We are told to be careful how we judge, what method we use, because that same method will be used against us.  If I live a life with the premise that I want of justice for the wrong I’ve experienced when I seek mercy for my wrong instead of the desired mercy I will receive justice, and then have the audacity to feel that I have been misjudged.

This is a salient principle that if embraced, just maybe our lives will rest in a place of mercy and our extended considerations to others will be mercy also. Neither will be quick to judge but quick to provide compassion, understanding, and kindness. This doesn’t mean we excuse behavior we simply acknowledge in a kind way that we are encouraged for them and will be praying for a positive outcome.

I am reminded of a story of a young man who was driving, not too fast, yet hit a child, panicked and ran. He went to his mother told her what had been done, she tried to assist in covering up, then had him turn himself in. The child died. Outrage took place and all I heard was he deserves whatever happens to him. Really? We really couldn’t have compassion and some understanding of his fears and his bad choice of covering up? What if it had been you or your child would you take the same position, you should get exactly what you deserve or would you want mercy, consideration? I had some Christian’s say if he had hit my child I would want the book thrown at him. Once again the question begs - what if it had been your child who hit the child, what would you want?

For us to be a country of carrying, forgiving, and uplifting people we must treat others as we wish to be treated. We must give the same consideration we would want for ourselves. We must be quick to forgive and slow to condemn.

Then there is the positive side of reaping and sowing. If you sow love you will reap love. If you sow kindness you will reap kindness. If you sow patience you will reap patience. If you sow compassion you will reap compassion. These qualities should be manifested in our lives. These qualities should be represented by you within your home, your church, your work environment, and your community. These qualities are the stuff the bible speaks of when saying we are to be the light of the world, the salt of the earth. In Galatians we read scripture that tells us there is one who is identified with Christ that exudes those vary qualities. It tells us that person is being led by the spirit and not by the flesh.                                                                                              

So as we began are you reaping what you’ve sown? Are you yielding a harvest that enriches your life and others or are you reaping a bitter harvest based on the bitter seeds you have planted?

Remember if you sow to the wind you reap a whirlwind!!!