Dear Solomon, does my behavior really matter?

It’s amazing how the choices you make today will affect you in years to come, or how choices you made years ago are still impacting you today. Ancient script says that you will always reap what you sow. This principle has been said in several other ways such as, “You get what you give,” or “What goes around, comes around,” but no matter how it is worded, it is one of those spiritual laws that we cannot escape.

It is the same as trying to escape the physical law of sowing and reaping. As I write this, planting season has arrived in Holyoke and the farming communities that surround us. If you plant corn, you are not going to reap soybeans, you are going to reap corn. It’s the same with this spiritual law. If you plant deception and dishonesty in your life today, you will not reap truth and integrity, you will reap deception and dishonesty in turn and in time. Just as when you plant kindness, mercy and forgiveness, you will eventually and ultimately reap the same.

And here is another amazing fact about planting seeds — a handful of seeds for corn will produce much more than just a handful of corn, the yield is much greater than what was planted. Once again, the spiritual law applies — sowing even just a few incidents of bad behavior, or lies, or envy or hatred into your life today will produce much more than you planted down the road.

We church folks sometimes think this law ceases to exist in our life. After all, once our sins are forgiven, they are eternally forgiven, right? And the answer is yes, your sins will not be held against you as far as your eternal standing is concerned. However, just because your sins have been forgiven in this sense does not mean you will not suffer the consequences of your choices in this life. The law of sowing and reaping still applies to church folks in this sense.

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