Do you ever get discouraged, and just feel like giving up? You try to live right, to live an exemplary life, trying to the best of your ability to live according to God’s Word. You want to make a difference in the world, or at least in your neighborhood. However sin keeps abounding, and the problems in your own life keep mounting. So why not just give up? Make it easier on yourself by bending the rules here and there. It doesn’t seem to matter anyway. Some people in the Galatian church seemed to also feel like that. In our verses today, Paul was encouraging these faltering believers to not grow weary, and to not give up. These words are for us today, as well, when we feel like giving up.
As our Scripture begins, Paul warns us that we need to be careful not to be deceived, for though many try, God will not be mocked. We cannot pull one over on Him. We will reap the consequences of what we sow, what we do in life (vs. 7-8). Nature, itself, shows us this. When we plant bean seeds, we will not get pumpkins. If we plant corn, we won’t get a pine tree. The same holds true with how we act. If we plant a wild and hedonistic life, we won’t reap the benefits of having lived a godly life. If we plant to please our own worldly desires, we’ll reap a crop of sorrow and evil. If we plant to please God, we’ll reap joy and everlasting life. Since the principle of sowing and reaping cannot be reversed, we need to carefully consider what we are planting.
All sins are seen by God. Don’t think we can deceive Him. With each act of sin, there is a cover-up, a lie released to hide the truth. We need to get the lies out. Sin does not disappear, it compounds. Our sin will always be found out (Numbers 32:23). Sin always corrupts, and when left unchecked, it always makes a person progressively worse in character. Our righteous actions will ultimately benefit us, whereas our sinful deeds will eventually bring harmful repercussions. Giving in to sin sows seeds of corruption, and in due time we will reap accordingly. Following the Lord will profit us.
This is where some of us might begin to be discouraged. We reap goodness, godliness, righteous biblical living, yet we don’t see a harvest. We might even be seeing wicked and ungodly people reaping a good life, and we get discouraged. Paul reassures us to not grow weary or give up (vs. 9). When we do what is right, with the right motive, but we receive no credit, no acknowledgment, we have God’s promise that one day we will reap. When our good works go unnoticed by others, God still sees. Don’t give up! In His time, God will provide a harvest. Our job is to be faithful to what God wants us to do, and leave the harvest to Him. God, alone, determines the outcome.
Some might say that this sounds a lot like Karma. However, this is not “Christian Karma”. Karma is the belief that a man’s behavior in one life determines his circumstances when reincarnated in his next life, or sometimes later in this life. The Bible is very clear that there is no such thing as reincarnation. We live only once, and are judged once. There is no reincarnation (Hebrews 9:27-28). We do reap what we sow, but usually not until heaven.
People do not always deserve the difficulties they have. Joseph in the Old Testament is a prime example. Paul, himself, is also an example. There are times when bad things happen to good people. Also often good things happen to bad people. Our passage says a man reaps what he sows, but unlike Karma, God doesn’t promise justice here on earth (II Thessalonians 1:6-9). And He doesn’t promise a carefree life for those who are righteous (John 16:33). The biggest difference between Karma and Christianity is grace! When we trust Christ we definitely don’t get what we deserve! (Romans 6:23). We must never mix Christianity with Hinduism (II Corinthians 6:14-16).
Are you feeding your spirit or the part of you that wants to act independently of God? Are you sowing seeds that are building you up, or that are tearing you down? Remember, we reap what we sow, more than we sow, and later than we sow. We will bear the consequences of our choices for a long time - either good or bad. Let’s be sowing good seed!
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