Earlier this year, I determined to study the concept of sowing and reaping. Perhaps I thought of it while setting out my tomato plants and anticipating a harvest of homegrown deliciousness. Or, it could also have been when Pastor John mentioned the concept in one of his sermons. But as I studied, I came across this definitive statement from Inspiration:
“The Lord has made it a part of His plan that man’s reaping shall be according to his sowing.” Healthful Living, 25
The Plan
The “plan” referred to in this quote is the plan of salvation, which adds weighty importance to the significance of being acutely aware of what we sow, for clearly, our eternal destiny depends on it.
Regardless of the cause that provoked this study, I began with Galatians 6:7, 8: “Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap. For he who sows to his flesh will of the flesh reap corruption, but he who sows to the Spirit will of the Spirit reap everlasting life.”
An Important Concept
Early in my study, I realized that this is a fairly common concept mentioned many times in Scripture.
Reaping what we sow was an important concept for the Apostle Paul. Not only did he write about it in his letters to the Galatians and the Colossians, but he also mentioned it in his second letter to the Corinthians:
“But this I say: He who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully.” 2 Corinthians 9:6
“But he who does wrong will be repaid for what he has done, and there is no partiality.” Colossians 3:25
The obvious corollary to that is that he who does right will also be repaid accordingly. We are left to determine for ourselves which kind of repayment we will receive based on the type of actions we commit and the kind of seed we sow.
Once again, we see that it is up to us to determine what kind of crop we will have.
Job
Moses also alluded to this concept when he recorded Job’s experience.
We generally recognize Job’s three friends as “miserable comforters.” However, the dubious counsel they gave Job occasionally contained a gem of truth. In one of Eliphaz’s diatribes, he stated, “Even as I have seen, those who plow iniquity and sow trouble reap the same.” Job 4:8
Even though it is clear from the context that Eliphaz meant this as an indictment of Job’s character, implying that Job’s troubles were the result of his supposed iniquitous behavior, if we remove it from the context, it remains a gem of truth. Although Eliphaz neglected to state it, the opposite is also true—those who till the soil with righteousness will receive a righteous reward.
Inspiration has much to say about this concept as well, revealing that there are many different aspects to sowing and reaping.
By Beholding
“You see that your brethren do not come up to the Bible standard, that there are defects in them, and you dwell upon these defects. You feed upon them instead of feeding upon Christ … .” Testimonies for the Church, Vol. 5, 334
If we continually and consistently dwell upon the faults of others, it is a universal law that those faults will become ingrained in our characters. But if we look ever to Jesus, the faults of others will fade as we will see more clearly our own faults and realize the necessity of change. “[For] by beholding we become changed. Let us look to Jesus and consider the loveliness of His character, and by beholding, we shall become changed into the same likeness.” Our High Calling, 334
There is a saying that you are what you eat. That is a statement of an obvious truth—in more ways than one. But it is also true that your character will be molded by whatever it is that you allow to occupy the avenues of the soul—your senses.
A More Detailed Example
“The soul does not become more and more like Christ by beholding evil, but like the evil which it beholds. The same love of self, the same indulgence of self, the same hastiness of Spirit, the same petulance of temper, the same sensitiveness and pride of opinion, the same unwillingness to receive counsel, the same unsanctified, independent judgment, will be manifest in those who criticize as in those who are criticized. They will act as if they had not Christ as their pattern and example.” The Review and Herald, August 15, 1893
“Those who feel it their prerogative to criticize their fellow men are doing the work of the enemy. The Lord has set none to correct the supposed errors of others; for by beholding these imperfections they themselves become harsh and self-centered. They compare themselves with themselves, and measure themselves among themselves. There are jealous and sensitive souls who foster their pride until, like an inflamed wound, it cannot bear the slightest touch. They fancy that they have been slighted, when no slight exists, until they create in themselves the very evils they imagine in others.” Ibid., November 21, 1899
So, You Reap What You Sow
In our original text from Galatians, Paul wrote, “He who sows to his flesh will of the flesh reap corruption.” The obvious question to ask from this statement is, What does it mean to sow to the flesh?
“Every seed sown produces a harvest of its kind. So it is in human life. We all need to sow the seeds of compassion, sympathy, and love; for we shall reap what we sow. Every characteristic of selfishness, self-love, self-esteem, every act of self-indulgence, will bring forth a like harvest. He who lives for self is sowing to the flesh, and of the flesh he will reap corruption.” Christ’s Object Lessons, 84
So, what we plant and cultivate in our hearts is what will grow and become our characters.
The following passage contrasts sowing to the flesh with sowing for a harvest of good.
“Fellow laborers, we are each sowing seed in the fields of life. As is the seed, so will be the harvest. If we sow distrust, envy, jealousy, self-love, bitterness of thought and feeling, we shall reap bitterness to our own souls. If we manifest kindness, love, tender thought for the feelings of others, we shall receive the same in return.” Testimonies for the Church, Vol. 5, 30
The Harvest Sown in this World is Carried into the Next
“Those who have sought for the development and perfection of Christian character by exercising their faculties in good works will, in the world to come, reap that which they have sown. The work begun upon earth will reach its consummation in that higher and holier life to endure throughout eternity.” Thoughts from the Mount of Blessing, 83
What we need is to be educated in the perfecting of Christian character. Mrs. White gives us counsel that is useful in this education—counsel, as you might expect, that deals with the universal concept that the nature and quality of the harvest is the result of the earlier sowing.
“By the laws of God in nature, effect follows cause with unvarying certainty. The reaping testifies to the sowing. Here, no pretense is tolerated. Men may deceive their fellow men and may receive praise and compensation for service which they have not rendered. But in nature, there can be no deception. On the unfaithful husbandman the harvest passes sentence of condemnation. And in the highest sense, this is true also in the spiritual realm. It is in appearance, not in reality, that evil succeeds. The child who plays truant from school, the youth who is slothful in his studies, the clerk or apprentice who fails of serving the interests of his employer, the man in any business or profession who is untrue to his highest responsibilities, may flatter himself that, so long as the wrong is concealed, he is gaining an advantage. But not so; he is cheating himself. The harvest of life is character, and it is this that determines destiny, both for this life and for the life to come.
“The harvest is a reproduction of the seed sown. Every seed yields fruit after its kind. So it is with the traits of character we cherish. Selfishness, self-love, self-esteem, self-indulgence, reproduce themselves, and the end is wretchedness and ruin. ‘He that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting.’ Galatians 6:8. Love, sympathy, and kindness yield fruitage of blessing, a harvest that is imperishable.” Education, 108, 109
A Different Aspect of the Same Concept
“Every day, we are sowing some kind of seed. If we sow the seeds of unbelief, we shall reap unbelief; if we sow pride, we shall reap pride; if we sow stubbornness, we shall reap stubbornness, ‘for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.’ ” Lift Him Up, 266
The following passage, published over a century ago, provides an accurate description of this concept as it is applied to society today.
“The widespread iniquity prevalent today may in a great degree be attributed to a failure to study and obey the Scriptures, for when the word of God is set aside, its power to restrain the evil passions of the natural heart is rejected. Men sow to the flesh, and of the flesh reap corruption.” Prophets and Kings, 624
Our Free Will
It is in the exercise of our free will that we sow. Whether we sow rebellion or obedience determines the nature of the crop.
“Lucifer took the position that as a result of the law of God, wrong existed in heaven and on this earth. This brought against God’s government the charge of being arbitrary. But this is a falsehood framed by the author of all falsehoods. God’s government is a government of free will, and there is no act of rebellion or obedience which is not an act of free will.” The Signs of the Times, June 5, 1901
By transgressing God’s law, regardless of the method or manner, we are sowing seeds that will yield a failed crop—one destined by universal law to be only discord, anarchy, and ruin.
Remember, part of the Lord’s plan is that man will reap according to how he has sown.
John R. Pearson is the office manager and Steps to Life board member. He can be reached by email at johnpearson@stepstolife.org or by phone at 316-788-5559.