Sowing and Reaping
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The Bible has some interesting parables relating to personal growth and development.
The Sower and the Seed
And he spake to them many things in parables, saying, Behold, a sower went forth to sow; and when he sowed, some seeds fell by the way side, and the fowls came and devoured them up:
Some fell upon the stony places, where they had not much earth and forthwith they sprung up, because they had no deepness of earth:
And when then sun was up, they were scorched; and because they had no root, they withered away.
And some fell amoung the thorns; and the thorns sprung up, and choked them
But other fell into good ground, and brought forth fruit, some an hundredfold, some sixtyfold, some thirtyfold
Who hath ears to hear, let him hear
- Matthew 13:3-9 (KJV)
Here we have a farmer who sows seeds to reap a harvest. Only a portion of the seeds actually bears fruit though.
Sometimes we can do everything right, but only a portion of our work will yield results.
So as far as growth, basically what you get out is proportional to what you put in – not equal to. It still means that the more you sow, the more fruit you will bear. Pretty simple right?
You also have an opportunity to optimize results. You can cultivate the soil so more seeds will produce fruit. You can plant more seeds on the better soil. You can sow the seeds in a way that sun doesn’t scorch them. You may reach a point where you do very little or what seems like no sowing and reap things beyond what you could have imagined. This is where you’d be utilizing the Law of Least Effort.
I had a limited view on sowing and reaping. I would think only of business, money and hard work, but it applies in a much broader sense. What you get out of relationships is proportional to what you have put in. What you get out of your health is proportional to what you have put in. If you want to develop a talent or skill, what you get out of that is proportional to what you have put in. What you reap in anything is proportional to the sowing you’ve done.
Sowing isn’t just physical labor. Sowing is time. Sowing is thought. Sowing is effort. Sowing is action.
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.
- Galatians 6:7-8
This speaks to the kind of sowing you do. If you sow seeds of hate and deception, don’t be surprised when you get that back. Likewise, if you sow seeds of love and kindness, you should expect that in return. Understand that just as the sower in the parable, some seeds of love and kindness will be unappreciated, forgotten, and have nothing come from them. As Mother Teresa would say, “Do good anyway”.
And let us not be weary in well doing; for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not
- Galatians 6:9
Be persistent in your sowing. It takes faith to be able to conceive that you’ll reap a harvest from tiny seeds. Trust that if you keep sowing, your season will come.
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I’ve never thought of it this way. I thought everything counted. Thanks for sharing a new viewpoint
Yeah I didn’t either. I had never even heard the Sower parable until I heard Jim Rohn speak about it. Thank you for stopping by Tess!
Hi Broderick – I love this post. And I also love what Mother Teresa said, too. “do good anyway”.
What you’ve written is so true. We don’t get back exactly what we sow, but if we keep sowing, our season will come. Being persistent truly is the key.
The human soul is like a mirror which reflects whatever it is turned to. Turn to the Word of God in order to reflect that divine education. Otherwise we reflect the instincts we inherited from the animal kingdom. It is disgraceful for a civilized human being to act like an animal.
I suppose that this aspect of reality works both ways. We reflect what we experience, our social environment also reflects what we radiate. We are all interdependent, global citizens.
Its not always true.. Sometimes what sow we can’t get that. In fact if we are good with people they are not in return.
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