You want the good news or the bad news?

The Good news is you reap what you sow... the Bad news is you reap what you sow. I heard the saying, "you reap what you sow" all of my life, but it never really sank in... that is... until I started reaping!!!
The Sowing is the easy part! The reaping... now that's a different story. Let's look at a few verses that make this point.

Psalms 1:1 Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful.
2 But his delight is in the law of the LORD; and in his law doth he meditate day and night.
3 And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.
4 The ungodly are not so: but are like the chaff which the wind driveth away.
5 Therefore the ungodly shall not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous.
6 For the LORD knoweth the way of the righteous: but the way of the ungodly shall perish.

Psalms 126:5 They that sow in tears shall reap in joy.

Proverbs 11:18 The wicked worketh a deceitful work: but to him that soweth righteousness shall be a sure reward.

Hosea 8:7 For they have sown the wind, and they shall reap the whirlwind: it hath no stalk: the bud shall yield no meal: if so be it yield, the strangers shall swallow it up.

Hosea 10:13-14 Ye have plowed wickedness, ye have reaped iniquity; ye have eaten the fruit of lies: because thou didst trust in thy way, in the multitude of thy mighty men. Therefore shall a tumult arise among thy people, and all thy fortresses shall be spoiled, as Shalman spoiled Betharbel in the day of battle: the mother was dashed in pieces upon her children.

Galatians 6:7-8 Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. For 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.

Pretty heavy, huh? I am still reaping things in my life that I sowed years ago. Negative things. Things that aren't any fun. And that's really kind of funny because I remember the sowing being all sorts of fun! Why does the reaping stink so badly? Why are the consequences of my actions always so hard to swallow?

I always heard this saying used in the negative sense and I always thought of it negatively. It was like a prophecy of impending doom to take all the fun out of all the bad stuff you do. And that's ok! After all, this truth can be a pretty strong deterrent from living any old way you want. But I realized one day that there is also a positive side to this sowing and reaping thing. Sure I had to pay the price for all of those wild oats I had haphazardly thrown into the wind, but what if I started sowing good things??? Yea, what if I started planting some quality seed in the field of my life, wouldn't I have a good harvest to look forward to for a change? Absolutely. As a matter of fact Psalms 1 gives the positive aspect first! Psalms 126:5 is positive. Proverbs 11:18 also includes the positive. Galatians 6:8 ends with the positive.

How did I miss that all those years? I'm sure it wasn't added to the pages of Scripture after I became of age. Maybe all I heard was the negative because I knew that was where I was living. I wasn't doing a lot of good sowing in those days.

A crazy thing just happened! As I was typing the last few lines I heard tires squealing and I jumped up and ran to the window. It turns out a small truck had pulled into the dirt field across from my house and had started doing donuts. As I thought about calling the cops he finished up and left as quickly as he arrived. Well, not exactly as quickly, because as he pulled back onto the road he did it with only 3 good tires. The front left tire was as flat as a pancake and he was riding down the road on his designer rims. I guess if you sow stupid, you reap a flat tire! Wow, talk about having a point illustrated right before your eyes. That was cool. (at least from where I sit)

I'm going to dig in here for a few days, plow the field of this good old saying, and try to harvest some thoughts that will help me get down a few more rows.

God please forgive me for the careless and foolish things I've done in the past, help me to avoid the same mistakes today, and teach me through the consequences that my main goal should be to draw closer to you. Help me to live a life that will bring glory to your Name. I fall so short of doing that all too often. I'm ready to sow the seed that will grow, be harvested, and put into your barns and not my own! Help me to be a servant that does your work your way. Thank you for allowing my stupid decisions to be turned into instruments of reproof in your hands. "Take me, break me, mold me, and make me. I want to do your will oh God."