"Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, this he will also reap"
This Scripture is the beginning of understanding how life works. We have become convinced by the culture around us that we are not responsible for the choices that we make and the life we build through those choices. But God says that we are totally responsible for the life that we build through our choices. We are like farmers sowing seeds and living in the harvest of what we have sown. If we have sown pride, cynicism, anger, and selfishness, then we will reap a whole crop of these fruits along with loneliness and misery.
Whatever you are sowing is what you will reap. The fruit of our choices is often dark and bitter. We choose pleasure over what was right, and we reap a diminishing return for it. God has created a world for us to live in over which He is Sovereign but which He allows us to choose within. We have the choice within our circumstances over what we think, what we say, what we do, our attitudes, and our motives. By choosing differently in these five areas, we can completely change our lives. God does love us and have a wonderful plan for our lives. If we apply His principles to our lives, then we will begin building an abundant life that grows toward the ultimate abundant life in heaven.
Too often we want to blame others for our life. It is the sales territory. It is the people at work. It is my spouse. It is my family. If only these things were different, then I could have a different life. No, whatever a man sows, this he will also reap. Yes, it is true that some fields into which people sow start out with more weeds and more rocks, but it is their choices that determine what their life is like. Many people have had awful circumstances and yet went on to great productive abundant lives. Daniel in the Bible saw his parents slaughtered and was taken captive to serve those who killed his parents and destroyed his nation.
It is essential that you grasp that it is your choices in your present situation that will allow you to embrace the abundant life that Christ has planned for you. Yes, you will make mistakes and choose poorly from time to time, but Christ offers forgiveness and repentance. It is your choices that direct your life towards the righteous and wonderful plan that God has in mind for you. He wants you to succeed more than you do.
I have so often heard people moan and groan about what is happening to them, but we can trace back into their lives the choices that they made that brought them to this place. Yes, bad stuff happens in a sinful world, but the person who embraces faith and chooses righteously changes their life. You are not a victim. You are not at the mercy of forces too big for you. Own your choices and begin watching your life change in ways that you cannot imagine.
If you remain negative and naive about how you are responding and that the positive thing you fail to say is your choice just as much as what cereal you choose for breakfast and you continue to see yourself as a victim, then you will be a victim. You and I can choose to sow a completely different crop into the life God has given us. We can change the crop that we are growing any time. You don't have to wait until some special date or some special event. Start choosing to see things from the positive side. Start choosing to take the right action that you know that you should choose. Seek God's forgiveness for the time that you chose poorly and ask for His strength to choose wisely next time.
What is the crop that you are reaping now? Is it the kind of life that you want to be living? If it isn't, then you have to change one of the five things that you can change and count on God to change the things only He can change. You and I can change our thoughts, our words, our actions, our attitudes, and our motives. I used to tell my girls when they were small and came out to the kitchen with a bad attitude to go back into their rooms and find their happy spirit because the attitude that they were displaying was a choice. If one of my daughters rolled their eyes at something I said, I would point out that that was a choice they made and they needed to make a different one.
Where are you excusing yourself because you have convinced yourself that what is happening in your life is not your choice; it is the way it is because of those above you or those around you. This is not true. It is the way it is because of your choices. You can choose to be different which will in turn cause the others to have to change to your change. Don't give away your choices to the autopilot default settings in your life. They are often set all wrong for a great life. They are set for a cynical, negative, selfish life. Own your choices.
This may sound pollyanish but choose to hang around positive people. Choose to say positive things. Choose to think positive goal-oriented things. Choose to have a positive and encouraging attitude.
When you find that you have chosen the wrong actions or words, then seek God's forgiveness and dig up the seeds of destruction that you have planted in your life. Refuse to let them grow into a destiny of disaster. Start right now and start choosing the right thing every place you can.
Until tomorrow,
Gil Stieglitz