by Pastor James Lee
In Part 1, we embarked on a walk around the neighborhood to consider two common ways we mock God in neglecting our stewardship of our short time here on the earth – Two principles in which we need forgiveness as much as we find so much grace and fresh opportunity. First, I argued that complaining about time is complaining about God. And, fresh off of that meditation, I was again humbled to read Albert Mohler write, “We can be humbled by limitations of time without gaining any real wisdom in terms of its stewardship… I can feel the passing of time in my bones, and that knowledge makes me want to be a more faithful steward of time tomorrow than I was today. Time will tell.” Personal application is ongoing! But now let’s consider a second, of many common ways, we sometimes mock God in our sanctification.
2. Neglecting the Fact That Sowing One Thing Reaps More of the Same Thing
Proverbs 4:23 exhort us, “Watch over your heart with all diligence, for from it flow the springs of life.” Jesus proclaimed in Matthew 15:19, “For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, slanders.” Paul wrote in 1 Timothy 4:7-8, “But have nothing to do with worldly fables fit only for old women. On the other hand, discipline yourself for the purpose of godliness; for bodily discipline is only of little profit, but godliness is profitable for all things, since it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come. It is a trustworthy statement deserving full acceptance.”
We’re all disciplined. The question for each of us is: in what? Are we disciplining ourselves for godliness? Is our spiritual health the highest priority of our lives? There is no quick fix for godliness or secret sauce to spiritual growth. It takes steady persevering faith. Donald Whitney was right when he said that, “We discipline ourselves in what we delight in.” I loved sports growing up, so that playing volleyball for hours at the school gym, then again at the beach later the same day, was summer happiness. But running on a treadmill feels like I’m a lab rat running endlessly to nowhere; so gym workouts aren’t nearly as enjoyable. If we love something, our discipline in it doesn’t seem like discipline because we delight in it. If genuine love of Christ resides in our hearts, we will discipline ourselves for godliness.
I recently went to the garden department at Home Depot. I bought some cherry tomatoes to grow over the summer and a dwarf Meyer lemon tree for our patio. I’m confident about growing cherry tomatoes because we’ve had success with them in the past, but the lemon tree has been a nervous study about the right kind of container, potting soil mix, frequency of watering and fertilizer, sun exposure, pruning, and other factors. Likewise, each of us might need particular truths from the sufficient Word, to apply at any given moment. It’s not always one size fits all, as some would lead you to believe. Nevertheless, whether you have special dietary needs because you’re diabetic, or you’re a world class marathon runner, every one of us needs to eat and drink, or we’ll be dead. There is an inevitable link between what we put into our bodies and our health. All plants require sunshine, water, and nutrients from the soil. Any child knows that if you plant carrot seeds in a garden, you will harvest carrots. You don’t expect to get broccoli. There is an inevitable link between what we put into the ground and what we take out of it or produce later.
The same is true in our spiritual lives. We can’t neglect His Word, dependence on His Spirit, fellowship with His people, etc. and expect to be spiritually healthy. The Bible gives us a simple yet profound principle that is crucial to all healthy change and spiritual growth. It is found stated or illustrated in countless examples. One example is in Galatians 6:7-10:
Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, this he will also reap. For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life. Let us not lose heart in doing good, for in due time we will reap if we do not grow weary. So then, while we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, and especially to those who are of the household of the faith.
Not exactly a sweeping revelation. There is nothing new or innovative under the sun. We reap what we sow. As it’s true in agriculture, it’s also true in our spiritual lives. What you see in your spiritual life today is the direct result of what you’ve put into the soil of your life in days past. What you see in your marriage today is probably a result of what you put or didn’t put into your marriage in days past. What you see in your grades today is likely the result of your study habits, diligence, or lack thereof, in days past. God is not mocked. Whatever a man sows, this he will also reap. Note that it’s of spiritual consequence, Paul says “God is not mocked;” that’s strong warning.
Do you know why some Christians make great strides in their walk with God while others are stagnant and mechanical and passionless? It isn’t because they lack some special godliness gene. It isn’t because of gifting, or of personality, or of upbringing, or some special event or circumstance or mentoring or lack of any of it. Of course, where godliness exists, it’s His grace and our dependence. But the difference is a matter of what each has planted into the soil of his or her own heart. Godliness isn’t a mysterious spiritual state that only an elite few or super-Christians can reach. We reap what we sow. Holiness is a harvest. And every Christian will bear genuine fruit over the course of time. But even as true believers, if we sow to our sinful desires, what the Bible calls the “flesh”, then we are told we will reap corruption. If we eat Snickers Bars and Chili Dogs all day every day for years, we will gain fat, develop diabetes, and suffer from heart disease. If we watch TV everyday after we work more than we study God’s Word, pray, and care for our family, then we will reap eventually the corruption that comes from eating that mental junk food. Then the spiritual weeds and rust that come from neglect will sprout and surface instead of godliness. If you neglect the spiritual disciplines and walking personally with God, don’t be surprised when you make sinful choices and change your life priorities waiting for a more convenient day. Don’t think that a little sexual innuendo, a lustful glance, or a casual fantasy won’t reap negative results no matter how small.
Paul presents us with two fields to sow in. One represents the Spirit and a life lived to depend on and please God. The other represents our sinful desires or the unredeemed “flesh.” Each of us can choose which field to plant seeds in. At any given moment we can go from one field to the other, kneel down, and sow seeds in one or the other. Where we sow, we reap. I recently planted some flowers in a little plot of dirt next to our garage for Sandy, and they’re blooming at the perfect time. I’ve been really intent on seeing them do well and not dying on me. I prepped the soil well, but no matter how pristine it is at the beginning, the wind is always blowing, so the spores from weeds inevitably will make their way there. The minute I see them, I pull those evil suckers from their roots. We can’t prevent the weeds, but we can prevent them from taking deep root and spreading. Same is true spiritually. All of us are in progress, and totally dependent on the Lord, but we must still be vigilant. Therefore, ultimately, you and I have two choices – sow to your flesh or sow to the Spirit, there is no in-between or neutral. In other words, if we are not sowing towards godliness, then we are by default going to be sowing to our sinful desires. To be inactive in growing your spiritual vitality and vision is to be actively diminishing it, and for some, destroying it. We should not merely “rest” in the gospel as a revived, yet subtle antinomianism would suggest. Our sinful desires and deeds are actual seeds that land in the soil of our hearts. They don’t just go away. They take root. They grow up. And unless we’re removing them, eventually they reap a harvest of spiritual disaster.
The late John Stott wrote, “Some Christians (foolishly and irrationally) sow to the flesh every day and wonder why they do not reap holiness.” What do you eat and pursue in your life? All of life’s choices – media consumption, career paths, books we read or books we don’t read, how we respond to anger or stress or difficult people, the use of money and our investment of it to the Satan-inspired lie of self-security or for His eternal kingdom, whether we embrace or avoid evangelism, what parenting principles we believe and practice (if you’re getting all your advice from your past or peers or psychology rather than the Bible, then what are you reaping?). And it’s not ever a lack of mentors as some of us might complain, it’s lack of the Word of God. Mentoring helps, but only so far as it reflects His Word. Plenty of bad mentors out there. And we may not pay the price now, but to a degree we will. And who will we blame when that day comes? We’ll probably find someone. But who can we blame? In reality, no one but ourselves. So the choice is simply this. Sow in the field of righteousness and grow holiness and expand witness and glorify God. Or sow in the field of the flesh and grow corruption and spiritual ineffectiveness, apathy, and shame. None of us will do this perfectly. It’s not perfection; it’s direction. Therefore, what direction are you and I sowing?
Joshua Harris wrote, “Growing in holiness is not about all the things you should avoid; it’s about the wonderful things you can and should be doing instead.” Not just putting off, but putting on. Not just saying no, but saying yes to something much better. Because no matter how much you exercise and eat salad, if you eat Krispy Kremes and bacon every other hour, you’re not going to be healthy. No matter how much you may externally attend a Sunday Service, it’s not going to undo all the real damage you’ve sown during the rest of the week. If you do not make it your direction and habit to humble yourself and strive to sow to please God and grow godliness gradually in your life, then you will never be a positive influence on the lives of others, you will never be a godly husband that your wife respects, you will never have anything lasting or substantial to teach your children, you will never be godly no matter how much you wish or claim to be so. Discipline yourself towards godliness. Stop making the excuses about being too tired or disliking reading or being too busy or justifying being in the path of sinners. Because if you sow that way, then that’s what you’ll reap. We can’t necessarily undo all our past choices or escape their consequences, but thankfully God’s grace is not negated and rescues. But starting today, I mean right now – we can ask God for His mercy and enablement – to daily commit to sow to please the Spirit. Every potential choice, every thought, every conversation, every deed, can be done to glorify God and it will lead to a harvest of eternal life and godliness. None of us will get it right all the time, but what we do get right will be blessed.
Has entertainment and “rest” become a “right” rather than a gift and responsible stewardship to be used for God’s glory? Did you know that recreation is “re-creation”, that its intended purpose is for renewal, not escape, and certainly not as a cover for one’s spiritual laziness? Yes, we can enjoy to the glory of God, and we need a healthy theology of rest, but I wonder if that is even pondered theologically and prayerfully. Too often, I observe that recreation has become something counter to what might please the Lord, in the sinful choices that professing believers engage in, that they’d blush embarrassment if they realized the Lord was actually in their midst, in terms of what they watch and where they go or how they reason it’s OK to participate in. But even when our enjoyment is legitimate and not inherently sinful, I’m not so confident that it’s saturated by gratefulness to the Lord and rejoicing in Him and not just His gifts? Have your plans somehow become more important than God’s plans? Has God’s Word become less important than the daily news or your favorite sports team’s scores? Have you become comfortable in not chasing after godliness as though your life depended on it? Have other things pushed aside the priority for Christ?
You reap what you sow. Sow laziness, reap the consequences. Sow neglect of your spouse, reap the consequences. So sinful culture, reap its approval. Sow pornography or the unedifying advertisement, reap the consequences. Sow bitterness and prejudice and greed, reap the consequences. Sow material wealth over storing up your treasure in heaven, reap the consequences. Sow anger, reap the consequences.
There are God-honoring priorities, but really only one! Mary had chosen the better of worship… and then she worked expressing that worship. First and foremost is our relationship to Christ – devotion to Him, our own soul care, a vibrant, growing, passionate walk with Christ has no substitute – it is absolutely essential and we must view and practice it as such. Paul rebuked the Corinthians, “But I am afraid that, as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, your minds will be led astray from the simplicity and purity of devotion to Christ.” Jesus rebuked Ephesus in Revelation 2, “But I have this against you, that you have left your first love.” Get this right, and everything else falls into place. Get it wrong, and everything else slowly falls apart… or worse, it deceives and desensitizes you. Yes, our Father disciplines us, if we’re truly His, but we love Him too.
Martin Luther said once, “I have much to do today, Therefore I will spend the first three hours in prayer.” That’s the first thing that goes for me, if I’m honest. But from experience, prayer actually makes us more productive. It actually allows us not only to get the most necessary things done, but more things done in general. The godliest people in church history always prioritize prayer and were known for their private prayer. It might not always be long, but does it come first and does it come often? If so, then soon we’ll find that our prayer life becomes more intimate, more powerful, more consistent, and lengthier in substance. Our joy will increase, our contentment will grow, our faith will be strengthened… irrespective of circumstances. Our life will be a more like a continual spring of loving God and loving others, than a tank that always feels empty.
How about you dear brethren? Are you tempted to think otherwise? Is He your daily bread? Is He your all in all? Will your coworkers, your children, your friends say of you – he really loves Jesus, she really loves Jesus. J. Oswald Sanders gave this practical challenge, “Suppose that we allot ourselves a generous eight hours a day for sleep (and few need more than that), three hours for meals and conversation, ten hours a day for work and travel on five days. Still we have thirty five hours each week to fill. What happens to them? How are they invested? A person’s entire contribution to the kingdom of God may turn on how those hours are used. Certainly those hours determine whether life is commonplace or extraordinary.”
Are you and I redeeming the time? Are we truly, truly seeking to be faithful over being successful? We reap what we sow. But here’s encouragement – if you sow to the Spirit, you will also reap a harvest if you do not give up. Don’t get weary. As you sow to please the Spirit, a harvest of righteousness will begin to grow. Godliness will grow. That’s the promise from God Himself. It’s the one investment in life that always reaps happy dividends! It may not sprout up overnight, and sometimes you may feel like you’re not changing as fast as you desire. But you will. Endure. Because our hope for change is based on God’s grace. Yet, it requires the obedience of faith in God’s goodness. What are you sowing to at the present? There are only two choices: to please the Spirit or to please your flesh. Make a life of growing godliness the field where you sow.
