Whatever One Sows, That Also Grows!

Resentment destroys a fool and envy slays the unwise.  They live in their turmoil filled with all their lies.  I myself have seen them take root, in the lives of those that they pollute.  As one holding onto them are trying to make their way, their house is cursed as there is destruction in all they say.  Then others feed on any harvest that comes, consuming it like locusts and leaving them with bread crumbs.  They lose all they have even among the thorns, as others greedy for gain, around their wealth swarms. For hardship does not spring from the soil and trouble sprout from the ground, yet man is born to trouble as surely as sparks fly upward bound. (Job 5:2-7)

 Sin will impact our lives if we carry it around and nurture it.  When we ignore it and do not repent and ask Jesus for help to root it out of our lives, we will also live with its consequences.   It brings further pain and difficulty in our lives, when otherwise we would thrive.   It also brings us poverty and lack as the purpose of sin is to hold us back.

 For instance, in the above circumstance, it started with the person feeling envy and resentment towards someone, but it polluted their lives as it took root and brought a harsh and destructive tongue. This led to more lack as this strife and misery took its toll, potentially resulting in them losing their job or being held back as poverty became the condition of their soul.

 Therefore do not let sin reign in your heart, so that you follow its desires and miss the mark (Romans 6:12)

 Our hearts guide us.  And so the condition of our heart matters in the direction of our lives.  When we are flooded with light and following His paths, we will live in the Lord’s favor.  Our burdens are light and the yoke is easy.   But living in sin far away from God will weigh us down and makes our burdens heavy and hard.

 In Luke 21:34-36 Jesus says in essence, ‘Be careful, or your hearts will be weighed down with carousing, drunkenness and the anxieties all around, and that day will close on you suddenly like a trap.  For it will come on all those who live on the map.  Be always on the watch as you pray, staying close to me throughout the day.  Pray that you may escape all that comes, and that you may be able to stand before the Son.’

Here Jesus was speaking about the time nearing his return.  He wants us to watch and wait expectantly for it with hope and anticipation.  At the same time, to be prepared that it will be difficult so to watch and pray.   Like Jesus when he asked Peter and John to pray they didn’t fall into temptation with what was to come, we are to pray and be alert.  The answer is not to be overwhelmed, overburdened, or over anxious.   

If we have heavy stress and are burdened down, it may not be as much our circumstances as the way that we are thinking about them or the way we are living our lives. It may be sin in our lives and choices we make, looking from the difficulty around us to escape.  It could be past trauma or something we drag around from the past, just under the surface, where overtime we have massed.

Sometimes I see people go out to drink with their friends as a means to get a break.  They think that they will be better and less hangry with life’s difficulties only to find they all the more struggle.  This is because His ways are not our ways.  We will not find our freedom in escape.  It is not that you need more time for fun.   But the more we proactively order our lives, the more freedom we will have.

The little things we do in the day matters.  The little choices to serve God and others will bring fruit into our lives over time.  If we cut corners, it may not be that noticeable at the time.  But as we do it over and over again, it builds in our lives.  We short ourselves.  

Like someone running a marathon, they make small daily choices to run and eat right.  And as they order their lives, it becomes easier and easier.   The same with fasting.  It may seem like a huge feat to do a 40 day fast, but if you are fasting 2-3 days every week, you build up stamina.  Then when you try a 40 day fast, it is much more simple. 

He gives justice to the oppressed and food to the famished, the Lord frees the prisoners and the left out are established.  The Lord opens the eyes of those who are blind, and He helps the guilty leave their regrets behind.   The Lord lifts up those who are weighed down, giving them joy when they carried weighty pounds.  The Lord strengthens the godly and protects the unseen among us, caring for the orphan and widow while He leaves the plans of the wicked in the dust. (Psalms 146:7-9)

The shortcuts, compromises or choices towards escape in our life amass fruit.  At the same time, so does our choices for faithfulness.  As we make small daily choices to give our best, we will find that our lives are filled with overflow.   Giving is another example.   When we stretch our faith just a little more to give a little more than last time, our faith grows bigger.  But if we just give the minimum every time, our faith becomes stagnant. 

Galatians 6:7 says, “Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap”

And with our sin, if we ask for help, He will meet us in it.  If we confess our sin and bring it out to the open to him, we will be healed, not hiding it.  Since He paid the penalty for our sin, we don’t continue to amass and amass consequences for sin.  We can repent, turn and go a different direction and He meets us in it.

The more you walk with honor and discretion, you will find your life is a blessing. The desire of the righteous bring about only good upon their path, but the hopes of the wicked bring about only wrath. One gives freely, yet gains even more; another withholds what is right, only to become poor. Those who are generous and always giving, will find joy as they are really living (Proverbs 11:23-25)

Looking at the life of Joseph and his brothers, this doesn’t seem to play out the way you would expect.  The brothers who so envied Joseph for his favor with his dad and resented him for it, wanted to kill him.  Yet, as a few like Ruben tried to sway them, they agreed to sell him off instead and make some money from it.   Their lives seemed to prosper while Joseph’s life seemed to come to a screeching halt.  The most violent, Simeon, marries and has several children.

Joseph went to prison and his brothers were off scot free doing whatever they wanted.  But cover time the story changes.   We see that the brothers are in need and in famine and come to Egypt for help.  When they run into a struggle, their guilt bubbles up and you can see they carry the weight of guilt for what they did.   Not only this, but later, you see that they watched their father suffer in great grief and pain from their actions.

Reuben and Judah are especially repentant and bear a heavy weight for their sin.  With Simeon, he became more violent and deadly.  This comes out in other ways in his life. Upon his death bed, Jacob prophesied in Genesis 49:5-7. “Simeon and Levi will be divided and scattered in Israel because of their violence.”   Later we see that Simeon is no longer mentioned as a tribe. 

The righteous will receive their due in time, how much more the ungodly and sinner will pay for a crime. (Proverbs 11:31)

What we also see is that while his brothers struggled in their sin with regrets and pain, Joseph was given the highest position under the Pharaoh. He was taken to the top and greatly blessed because others clearly saw the Lord was with him.  Throughout all the trials and difficulties, he endured, we see God with him while he is hidden obscure. The Lord encouraged his heart and strengthened him.  He was never not known or seen.    

The perverse in heart are an abomination to the Lord, they mock him as their actions are abhorred.  But the blameless in their walk are His delight, He will find pleasure in their desire to do right. Be assured that the wicked do not get off scot free, but the children of the righteous, will be alike a well-watered tree.   (Proverbs 11;20-21) 

We also see that the pain and suffering of Jacob eventually comes to an end.   As he gave us his last favored son for his family, hope was around the bend. God met him with joy that he couldn’t expect, washing away his tears as things became rightly set. And Joseph was blessed for generations down, with the abundance of prosperities’ crown.

Even without society intervening and trying to set things right, there are consequences for sin.  As mentioned, burdens, lack, pain and shame are all the result of sin.  From the very beginning as we were told we would taste death, people experience consequences for their sin.  And not only them but their families and generations following.

Coming to my last paint that complacency or compromise is sin.  Not only is it sin to hold resentment or envy in our hearts and nurture it, but to just fail to act, close our eyes and not step up or speak out is sin. Or doing things half-hearted.  These things will eventually damage our lives.

We see this with Solomon.  He is world renown for his wisdom and God answers his prayer with more than he could ask or imagine.  But then he starts feeling entitled and making compromises.  He marries foreign women that he was not to take and amasses wealth.  Before you know it, he is cut out of the lineage of Jesus.  While he is in heaven, he reaped significantly less than what God has planned and set him up to reap. 

He who brings trouble on his household will regret it, as his family will never let him forget it.  He will only inherit the wind, while a wise servant in the house will become the next of kin.  Someone foolish will always sit in the back seat, serving the wise and washing their feet. The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life, and the one who wins souls, will have treasure in their afterlife.  The righteous will receive their due in time, how much more the ungodly and sinner will pay for their crime. (Proverbs 11:29-31)

Just yesterday I heard a story of a man who carried his cross.  At some point, he decided it was too heavy so he shaved a little off.  He found it made his life a little easier so he kept shaving more off.  Then when he got to the end of his journey, he found that he needed the cross to be able to cross over to the other side.  But his was too small because he has shaved it down over and over again. 

For myself, I struggle with this sin.  When I feel overwhelmed, rather than pray, I may eat and/or sleep more.  And rather than fast, sometimes I do it but half-heartedly.  I will end the fast early, just recently, drink some broth to try to get energy.   I am concerned at times about my memory that seems to struggle a little more when I fast.  

Another struggle of mine is margin.  I stuff my schedule full and say yes to too much.  Then as I am too busy, it adds stress as I try to get things done in shorter time frames.  Keeping my schedule clear for my purpose is hard at time as I long to do things that make a difference.  And Ironically, the things that will genuinely make a difference like fulfilling my purpose, I may cut corners on this.

Mostly, I just struggle with disappointment recently.  I am having a hard time surrendering the health of my middle boy to the Lord.  He is an amazing kid and a super hard worker.  We share the same initials as we are so much alike.  He has a very special place in my heart.  Over the years, he went from the bottom 1% of the population to the upper median for testing as a result of working hard over time.  He also takes great care of his body, works out daily and eats healthy.  He never ceases to impress me with his wisdom and work ethic.  Initially, the doctors told me his kidneys may fail during his growth spurt and they actually got better.  But, Just recently, they told us differently and I am struggling with surrendering this.   

“Take my heart, and mold it.   Take my life and form.  Take my will and conform it to Yours” sings in the background. 

Lord Jesus, help us in our weakness to keep setting our mind on you in every circumstance and every season.  Bring joy and peace, even when things are hard.  Show us the path to go that honors you.