Sowing And Reaping In Your Life

How to use an often overlooked principle

How do you get the things you want in life? Hard work? God’s will? Is your destiny determined by God or are you in total control of it? I think both are involved and this is especially evident in the sowing and reaping principle that is in the world and in the Bible. The parable of the hidden talents makes it especially evident:

Matthew 25:14-30
"Again, it will be like a man going on a journey, who called his servants and entrusted his property to them. To one he gave five talents of money, to another two talents, and to another one talent, each according to his ability. Then he went on his journey. The man who had received the five talents went at once and put his money to work and gained five more. So also, the one with the two talents gained two more. But the man who had received the one talent went off, dug a hole in the ground and hid his master's money.
"After a long time the master of those servants returned and settled accounts with them. The man who had received the five talents brought the other five. 'Master,' he said, 'you entrusted me with five talents. See, I have gained five more.'
"His master replied, 'Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master's happiness!'
"The man with the two talents also came. 'Master,' he said, 'you entrusted me with two talents; see, I have gained two more.'
"His master replied, 'Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master's happiness!'
"Then the man who had received the one talent came. 'Master,' he said, 'I knew that you are a hard man, harvesting where you have not sown and gathering where you have not scattered seed. So I was afraid and went out and hid your talent in the ground. See, here is what belongs to you.'
"His master replied, 'You wicked, lazy servant! So you knew that I harvest where I have not sown and gather where I have not scattered seed? Well then, you should have put my money on deposit with the bankers, so that when I returned I would have received it back with interest.
" 'Take the talent from him and give it to the one who has the ten talents. For everyone who has will be given more, and he will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken from him. And throw that worthless servant outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.'

God gives you all that you have but you are responsible for sowing it, for using it, and for being faithful with it. It is a balance of God and man. What are you reaping in life? If those things are not good or are not the things you want for your life then take a look at what you are sowing. Perhaps your sowing and reaping strategy needs to change.

There are two ways to receive in the sowing and reaping process. You can see both of them in the parable of the hidden talents. The faithful servant reaped back what he sowed from the talents but also he received more from the Master for being faithful. But keep in mind that none of the talents became the servant’s, they always remained the master’s who entrusted them to the servant.

What kind of sower and reaper are you? It might be helpful to compare yourself to the 3 types below:

Sow Too Little:
These people do not sow what they have and therefore never reap what could be theirs. That is what happened the servant with the one talent in the parable. People who sow too little may be fearful, lazy, self-conscious, worried about not doing it right, or introverted which holds them back from sowing what they have.

Reap Too Much:
These people do not sow enough because they are always focused on reaping and they sow what they do not have. If you are continually reaping and never sowing, you won’t be fruitful for very long. People who reap too much may be arrogant, extroverted, desperate or greedy.

Balanced:
These people continually sow and reap. Being faithful with what they’ve been given but never going beyond what they’ve been entrusted with.

If you don’t know what God has given you to sow, take a look at what you are passionate about or ask God to reveal to you what He has given you to sow. Regardless, try something new, anything new. Do something different in your life. If you want things to change but always do the same things then you will keep reaping the same things in your life. Experimentation is often the key to revelation!

Track your sowing and reaping. Make a list at the end of each day of all the things you sowed and reaped that day. Everything that you did, list it as sowing. Everything that happened to you, list it as reaping. Give it some time and notice any patterns in your life. And if you start doing something new if your life, see if anything new starts happening to you as well. Invest for the long term. You may not reap what you sow right away or you may not reap anything significant. But keep sowing and keep reaping.