“You reap what you sow” is a well-known proverb, but it is also written in the Bible.
God said to the people of Israel, “Today I am giving you a choice of two ways. You can choose life or death. The first choice will bring a blessing. The other choice will bring a curse. So choose life! Then you and your children will live.” Deuteronomy 30:19 (ERV).
Life is full of choices. It is written in Proverbs to “pay attention to the path you decide to follow … and turn away from evil.” Proverbs 4:26-27 (FBV). We need to think about our choices and what the results of our choices are. They can lead to destruction, or to eternal life.
“Don't be fooled, God can't be treated with contempt: whatever you sow, that's what you reap. If you sow according to your sinful human nature, from that nature you'll reap self-destruction. But if you sow according to the Spirit, from the Spirit you'll reap eternal life.“ Galatians 6:7-8 (FBV).
When you are tempted, you have to choose
Everything in life goes exactly as it is written in God’s Word. There are no exceptions. This is a law of life that applies to everyone, whether they believe in God or not. You will reap what you sow. All corruption that is in the world comes from our sinful desires. (2 Peter 1:4.) James asks, “Why do you fight and argue with each other? Isn't it because you are full of selfish desires that fight to control your body?” James 4:1 (CEV).
All sin begins in our thought life. When a temptation comes up as a thought and I agree with it, it leads to sin: and when sin is full grown (when sin is practiced) it leads to death. (James 1:14-15.) This death is a spiritual death, which is the result of sin. This is when one’s conscience becomes hard and one cannot see the difference between good and evil. One lives in sin.
It’s written that Moses refused to enjoy sin. (Hebrews 11:25.) The “joy” of sin lasts only for a short time, and what people don’t think of is that after the “enjoyment” of sin, destruction will follow. This destruction can be problems in their marriage and divorce. It can be financial difficulties. It can be in one’s thought life with pictures of past sinful behaviour. One can be filled with thoughts of regret, worry, suspicion, unthankfulness, bitterness, discontent and all sorts of bad memories. But Jesus can make us free from all of this! (John 8:34-36.)
God’s Word is the solution
We have to reap what we have sown. If we did not always choose the right thing, then there will be a harvest of bad thoughts that come up in our minds. But we can overcome them by taking up the battle against these bad thoughts one by one. We have to take every thought and compare it to what God’s Word says about it. And when it is not according to God’s Word, we must be obedient to God’s Word and say ‘no’ to these bad thoughts. (2 Corinthians 10:3-5.) Paul writes for example in connection with worry to take time and think about whatever is true, noble, right, pure, lovely, and honourable. (Philippians 4:8.) Then over time these bad thoughts will stop.
It’s written about being tricked by sin and becoming hard-hearted. (Hebrews 3:13.) Sin can deceive us. Satan can make something look very attractive. Just look around and you’ll see the result of such deception. You will see the result of sin.
Choose life!
Why not choose life and avoid all this unnecessary suffering and misery? Why not sow according to the Spirit and reap eternal life! Paul writes in Romans that if our minds are ruled by the Spirit, we will have life and peace. (Romans 8:6.) If we walk in the Spirit, we will not do what our sinful human nature wants. (Galatians 5:16-17.)
There is a battle in our thought life. The Spirit wants the opposite of what our human nature wants and our human nature wants the opposite of what the Spirit wants. They are against one another. But through the power of the eternal Spirit, we can overcome those desires of our sinful human nature! Paul writes that if we give in to the works of our sinful human nature, we will not inherit the kingdom of God. That kingdom consists of righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit, which are the fruits of a life where we overcome sin.
Paul also lists the fruits of the Spirit. “… love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control …” Galatians 5:22-23 (CEB). And he told Timothy to run away from the things of the world and fight the fight of faith and win eternal life. (1 Timothy 6:11-12.) Jesus also fought this fight. He learned obedience from what He suffered in this battle, and the result of that was that He was made perfect. (Hebrews 5:8-9.) All the fullness of God came to live in His spirit. And now we can follow Him on this same way. It’s a fight worth fighting. So, in your daily situations, choose life! You won’t be sorry.