We Don’t Reap What We Sow – We Reap More

Picture someone starting a home garden and planting 20 tomato seeds, then expecting to reap…20 more tomato seeds. Or a farmer, having cultivated his field, planting 1,000 kernels of wheat, anticipating to reap 1,000 more wheat kernels. 

Crazy, right? Because we know that from each seed, they’d rightfully expect to eventually find mature plants growing with an abundance of tomatoes, wheat, corn, or other kinds of produce. The reality is, we don’t reap what we sow. We reap much more than we sow.

This is an important principle to keep in mind because our words and actions have consequences, for good or for bad, and many times those consequences can be far greater than anything we could have ever dreamed – or feared. 

 

We can look at it from both positive and negative perspectives. Years ago, we were hearing a lot about the “pay it forward” movement, popularized by the aptly named film, “Pay It Forward.” The idea was that if you’re the beneficiary of someone’s kindness or generosity, rather than trying to repay that person it might be better to demonstrate kind or generous acts that benefit others. If we can envision a chain of people adopting this practice, it’s easy to understand how the initial act of kindness has been multiplied many times over. 

 

In a similar sense, we can look at Jesus’ Great Commission in Matthew 28:19, to “go and make disciples of all nations.” If one person invests time and energy into another individual, helping him or her to grow spiritually, then they both find other people to disciple, you’ve gone from two people to four. If at some point all four proceed to start discipling four more, the original two has grown to eight. You can do the math from there.

 

In what’s commonly known as Jesus’ “parable of the sower,” the Lord spoke of seeds – the Word of God – being sown. Some of the seeds fell on a path where they were trampled, others on rocks where they could not become rooted, and still others among thorns where growth was choked out. But the seeds that fell on fertile soil, Jesus said, “came up and yielded a crop, a hundred times more than was sown” (Luke 8:5-8). That’s a good return for the expenditure of time, energy and resources.

 

However, there’s also the downside of reaping more than we’ve sown. Take a simple example: A parent is known for sometimes using profanity, whether out of anger, frustration, or simply from habit. One day little Johnny or Ginny starts using some of the same words. The parent is stunned, especially if they’ve been expressed in a public setting. “Don’t say those words!” mom or dad corrects. But the youngster looks up in confusion, thinking, “But that’s what you say.”

 

Recently I read about a very prominent Christian leader, one I had admired, who confessed of long-term infidelity despite having been married for decades. In admitting and repenting of his sins, he announced he was stepping away from fruitful ministry that God had used to bless countless people. No need to name names or get into specifics, but clearly the seeds of sexual immorality were yielding a dire harvest: Family devastation, the abrupt end of productive service to the Lord and His people, and the grievous impact his transgressions would have on those who had benefited so much from his teachings.

 

Sadly, circumstances like these have been repeated more times than any of us would like to admit. Not one of us is perfect or even close. But some sins and acts of unrighteousness have ramifications far more grave than others. We don’t reap what we sow – we reap far more than what we sow.

 

“Well, that could never happen to me,” we might say defensively. Don’t be so sure. This is why the apostle Paul warned, “So, if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don’t fall!” (1 Corinthians 10:12).

 

This is where the metaphors of physical and spiritual farming part ways. Every farmer knows there’s a specific time for cultivating and sowing, then a season for harvesting. Spiritually speaking, however, we are always in both sowing and harvesting modes. 

 

Exhibiting what Galatians 5:22-23 calls “the fruit of the Spirit – love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control” is always acceptable and recommended. As the passage states, “against such things there is no law.” And we can expect they will yield a rich harvest, the fruit of righteousness in the lives of people we encounter each day.

 

Other “seeds,” however, reap remorseful consequences. The two preceding verses list some of them: “…sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies and the like” (Galatians 5:19-21). It goes on to say, “those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.” Not only that, but the negative impact of their behavior on those around them will be immeasurable.

 

Moral of the story? As Ephesians 5:15-16 warns, “Be very careful, then, how you live – not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil.” It’s indisputable that we’ll reap far more than we sow. So, let’s make sure to sow good seed.

‘You Reap What You Sow’ – Is That Really True?

Most of us are familiar with the phrase, “You reap what you sow.” But have you ever wondered about what that means – or if it’s really true?

 

In one respect, it’s absolutely true. As I recently heard a speaker observe, “If you sow cabbage, don’t expect to reap carrots.” Although wouldn’t it be interesting if we could sow both cabbage and carrots together? We might be able to reap coleslaw!

 

However, in many cases it might be more accurate to state, “You reap more than you sow.” For instance, if you’re a farmer and sow a single kernel of corn, you still would expect to reap more than just one kernel of corn. Whatever we sow, we typically expect to reap a lot more of it.

The same applies to our actions and behaviors. As the adage tells us, “You attract more flies with honey than vinegar.” Galatians 5:22-23 lists what it calls “the fruit of the Spirit…love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.” If those characteristics are evident in our lives, it’s likely that we’ll encourage others to respond in like manner. 

 

We might see a corresponding result when people fail to exhibit such godly traits. A few verses earlier, Galatians 5:19-21 offers this sobering picture: “The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy….” 

 

Those behaviors aren’t likely to cultivate an environment of peace and goodwill. It all depends upon which we choose to “sow.” As Proverbs 15:1 observes, “A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.”

 

We find this principle summed up succinctly in Galatians 6:8, “Whoever sows to please their flesh, from the flesh will reap destruction; whoever sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life.” Indulging one’s desires might seem like a good idea, but if not controlled they can in fact reap disastrous results. On the other hand, if our intentions are to please God, “denying self” as Jesus termed it in Luke 9:23, the outcome is much more than good deeds – it’s life for all eternity.

 

Recently I read an interesting verse that stated, “Light is sown like seed for the righteous and gladness for the upright in heart” (Psalm 97:11). We typically don’t think of light as a seed, or that it’s something we can sow. But we live in a world that seems increasingly dark. Up it seems has become down, and down has become up. When there’s great darkness, even the smallest light can make a profound difference.

 

Being in a predominantly agrarian society, one of the metaphors Jesus Christ often used was sowing seed. In the 8^th chapter of the gospel of Luke we find Him telling His “Parable of the Sower,” using the image of seeds for the Word of God. In the story, some of a farmer’s seeds fall along a path, others fall on rocky ground, some fall among thorns, and others fall on good soil.

 

The path, rocky ground and thorns are not suitable for the seeds to take root and bring about life. However, as Jesus said, “Still other seed fell on good soil. It came up and yielded a crop, a hundred times more than was sown” (Luke 8:8). The first three “soils” represented people who heard but didn’t respond well to the saving Word of God. 

 

Not so with the good soil: “But the seed on good soil stands for those with a noble and good heart, who hear the word, retain it, and by persevering produce a crop” (Luke 8: 15). If you’re a follower of Christ, you’re among those that experienced the Word of God falling on the good soil of your heart.

This for me raises two questions: First, what kind of crop am I producing? And second, am I willingly seeking to sow the seed of God’s Word in such a way that others might receive it and themselves retain it, find God changing their lives through it, and then beginning to produce a crop themselves, one that will last for eternity?