Think About It; No, Really Think About It
Galatians 6: 7-10
In a message preached at Link Church in Clarksville, AR on November 19, 2023, Pastor David shares numerous reflections on the Bible’s teaching about sowing and reaping. Reflecting on his childhood, he says, “When Grandpa planted watermelons, we didn’t go to the watermelon patch expecting squash. Yet, lots of times in life, we sow one thing and expect another.” The law of sowing and reaping is among the most basic of biblical truths. In Galatians 6:7-10, the apostle Paul writes,
7 Be not deceived. God is not mocked. For whatever a man sows, that will he also reap. 8 For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life. 9 And let us not grow weary in doing good, for in due season we shall reap, if we do not give up. 10 Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who are of the household of faith.
Consider these observations about sowing and reaping:
1. You Can’t Blame God When What You Planted Comes to Harvest
I vividly remember a conversation I had with God years ago while traveling. We had stopped at a hotel for the night, and I was up late. A movie came on that was of a genre I don’t usually watch. When it was over, I felt disturbed. I wasn’t exactly afraid, but I was troubled. I was plagued by nightmares throughout my childhood, a struggle that God has spared me from as an adult. As I closed my eyes to sleep, I prayed, “God, please don’t let me have a nightmare tonight. Give me peace.” Immediately, I heard the voice of the Spirit whisper, “I will not honor that prayer. I have told you in my Word that whatever a man sows, that shall he reap. If you want to have peace, sow the right things into your mind.” This may sound like a simple enough lesson, but to me it was profound. It is equally true in multiple facets of life.
Every day we make decisions that will impact our future. Some of these are big decisions like who we will marry, what house we will buy, or what job we accept. Other decisions may seem smaller: how often will we eat out, how big of a cell phone plan we will choose, or where we will go on vacation. Decisions like these will affect our future peace of mind, finances, and lifestyle. In the same way, we make spiritual decisions that also shape who we become. Will we set aside daily time to pray? Will we study the Bible? Will we faithfully attend and participate in a local church? Will we be kind to those who are rude to us? Will we forgive those who wrong us? I once heard Evangelist Kate McVeigh say, “I don’t determine my future. I determine my daily habits, and my daily habits determine my future.” How true!
2. You Can’t Blame People When What You Sowed Comes to Harvest
When you begin reading the Bible, you only make it to the third chapter before reading about someone playing the blame game. When God asks Adam why he did the thing he was commanded not to do, Adam responds,
“The woman whom You gave to be with me, she gave me fruit of the tree, and I ate” (Gen. 3:12).
It is easy to say things like, “It’s my wife’s fault! It’s my husband’s fault! It’s those heathen kids! It’s the family I grew up in!” The truth is, while a lot of things may impact our lives, we will never grow until we learn to take responsibility for our own decisions and actions. It has been said that you can’t sow wild oats and then pray for crop failure. The Bible is explicit,
“Be not deceived. God is not mocked. For whatever a man sows, that will he also reap.” -Gal. 6:7
The Bible recounts the story of how Moses was kept out of the promised land. When Moses recaps the story in Deuteronomy, he lays the blame at the feet of the Israelites. Moses says, “But the Lord was angry with me because of you and would not listen to me…” (Deut. 3:26). However, God makes it clear in the book of Numbers that it was Moses’s own decisions that kept him out. “And the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, ‘Because you did not believe in me, to uphold me as holy in the eyes of the people of Israel, therefore you shall not bring this assembly into the land that I have given them’” (Num. 20:12). Playing the blame game is never fruitful. Spiritual growth demands us to accept accountability for our actions and to realize that the law of sowing and reaping applies to everyone.
3. Don’t Allow Your Emotions in the Moment to Sow Something That Your Spirit Will Have to Reap
“For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life.” -Gal. 6:8
It is possible to allow your emotions or your physical appetites to impact your entire future. If you’ve ever read the story of Jacob and Esau, then you know just how gut wrenching parts of their story is. After Jacob deceitfully takes away his brother’s blessing, the Bible tells us that Esau,
cried with a great and exceedingly bitter cry, and said to his father, “Bless me, even me also, O my father!” 35 He said, “Your brother came deceitfully and has taken away your blessing.” 36 Esau said, “Is he not rightly named Jacob? For he has supplanted me these two times. He took away my birthright, and now he has taken away my blessing.” -Genesis 27:34-36
It’s painful to read, but Esau’s lament is not fully grounded in reality. Jacob did not take away Esau’s birthright, as Esau claims. No. Esau sold it to him willingly….for stew.
29 Now Jacob cooked a stew; and Esau came in from the field and he was famished. 30 So Esau said to Jacob, “Please feed me some of that red stew, for I am famished.” Therefore, his name was called Edom. 31 Then Jacob said, “First sell me your birthright.” 32 Esau said, “Look, I am about to die; of what use is the birthright to me?” 33 Then Jacob said, “Swear to me this day.” So he swore to him, and he sold his birthright to Jacob. 34 Then Jacob gave Esau bread and lentil stew. Then he ate and drank, arose, and went his way.
Thus, Esau despised his birthright. -Gen. 25:29-34
Esau altered his entire future because he made an emotional decision while he was physically hungry. This was no small matter. It was so devastating that even the New Testament uses Esau as an example of the danger of emotional, fleshly decisions. In Hebrews 12:14-17 we read,
14 Pursue peace with all men, and the holiness without which no one will see the Lord, 15 watching diligently so that no one falls short of the grace of God, lest any root of bitterness spring up to cause trouble, and many become defiled by it, 16 lest there be any sexually immoral or profane person, as Esau, who for one morsel of food sold his birthright. 17 For you know that afterward, when he wanted to inherit the blessing, he was rejected. For he found no place for repentance, though he sought it diligently with tears.
Some people have misconstrued this to suggest that Esau had no hope of eternal salvation. Such a claim misses the context. Esau tearfully pursues repentance in the passage from Genesis 27 that is quoted above. He longed to reverse the decision he had made, but he couldn’t. When we sow to the flesh, we reap destruction from the flesh. There are things that, even if we can be forgiven in eternity, may still have devastating consequences in the here and now. Beyond this, one would be very foolish to ignore the potential eternal ramifications of our decisions. The passage from Hebrews that is quoted above concludes with these words,
25 See that you do not refuse Him who is speaking. For if they did not escape when they refused Him who spoke on earth, much less shall we escape if we turn away from Him who speaks from heaven. 26 At that time His voice shook the earth, but now He has given us a promise, saying, “Yet once more I will shake not only the earth but also heaven.” 27 And this statement, “Yet once more,” signifies the removal of those things that can be shaken, things that are created, so that only those things that cannot be shaken will remain.
28 Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be moved, let us be gracious, by which we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear. 29 For our God is a consuming fire.
We must guard ourselves against being foolish because of the emotions of a moment.
4. What You Nurture is What You Will Harvest
“And let us not grow weary in doing good, for in due season we shall reap, if we do not give up.” -Galatians 6:9
Sometimes it takes a while before we see the results of our actions. In the short term, doing the right thing may seem pointless, and doing the wrong thing may seem to be without consequences. This is not the case. Seeds take time to grow. If a farmer plants a potato seed, he doesn’t assume that it’s not growing just because he doesn’t see a potato plant burst out of the ground a few days later. Every farmer knows that seeds take time to grow. Before harvest time arrives, you have to pull weeds and possibly dust for pests. The soil needs water and sunlight and time. It is the same way in life. The good seeds that we plant need to be nurtured if we expect a harvest.
We must nurture our marriages, our children, our finances, and our health. At the same time, we must be careful not to nurture anger, jealousy, or bitterness. What we nurture is what we will harvest. We would do well to stop and consider what things we are nurturing right now. As Pastor David explains, “Someone else can’t sow something into my life that I won’t nurture.” God can use others to benefit my life, but I must choose to nurture the investments they make if I wish to see a harvest.
5. Sow Good Seeds and You Will Reap Good Things
“9 And let us not grow weary in doing good, for in due season we shall reap, if we do not give up. 10 Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who are of the household of faith.” -Gal. 6:9-10
This passage offers vital instructions to believers. We need to do good to all people. This includes those who treat us kindly and those who treat us poorly. It includes those who are followers of Christ and those who are not. Believers should be known for our good deeds. We should be the best employees and employers, the best business partners, and the most involved and generous citizens. Far too often, people form the wrong image of God because of what they have seen among His followers. This must never be the case. We should “do good to all people….” Still, the word “especially” in this passage is of great significance. We are to “do good to all people, especially to those who are of the household of faith.” Followers of Christ should always know that other followers of Christ have their back. This is part of the reason we repeat the words weekly, “We are not just a church; we are a family.” No one should doubt that their brothers and sisters in Christ have their best interest in mind. We should give each other the benefit of the doubt. We should assume the best about each other, not the worst. Jesus Christ Himself said,
“By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.” -John 13:35
Think about it. No, really think about it. What do the Bible’s teachings about sowing and reaping really mean for each of us? What implications does this teaching have for our lives? These are important questions.
We need to stop and ask ourselves: Am I blaming God for things I am experiencing when they are actually the result of seeds I sowed earlier in life? Am I blaming others for these things? Am I allowing my emotions to drive me to plant bad seeds? Am I nurturing the things I want to harvest? Am I sowing good seeds? Think about it. No, really think about it.