Principles to Live By: Sowing and Reaping, Pt. 1

Our parents planted seeds in all of our lives, some blessings and some curses. We have to fight those curses with the truth of Scripture and the power of the Holy Spirit.

Principles to Live By: Sowing and Reaping, Pt. 1

"Do not be deceived, God is not mocked;
for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap."

(Galatians 6:7)

I have been sowing good seeds into my soul by listening to the sermon series by Dr. Charles Stanley entitled, "30 Life Principles". Many of you reading these devotions are people who pour out yourselves constantly in giving to others. You are a blessing to so many. Thank you for all that you do! I want to encourage you to feed your soul, because it is impossible to keep giving if you are empty. An empty gas tank on a car is no help for the vehicle. If there is nothing in the tank, then there is no forward progress, and the same is true for you and me as we serve God and others.

I have been studying and teaching both in my podcast and in these devotions the 30 life principles that Charles Stanley preached and lived by. All 30 messages can be viewed online at intouch.org. Stanley was the pastor of FBC Atlanta, GA for over 50 years and was well-known for his faithfulness to teach the Bible on his In Touch TV broadcast. Stanley passed away on April 18, 2023, at 90 years of age.

Today, we will begin to discuss Part 1 of Principle #6: "The Principle of Sowing and Reaping". One of the first things to pop into my head when I think of sowing and reaping is the garden my dad had when I was a child of about 6 years of age. We had a very large garden, and it produced fresh vegetables that we would enjoy. We also had plenty to give away and bless others. However, there was a price to be paid! That garden took a ton of work that my older brother and I can tell you about! We learned the value of hard work by planting the seeds, fertilizing the crops, removing the weeds, and eventually harvesting the vegetables. Dr. Stanley made this statement a few times in his message, and it is true not only in gardens but also in life: we always reap what we sow, more than we sow, and later than we sow. So very true.

Stanley began his message with a story of how he has heard many women tell him that when they were growing up, their father would tell them how beautiful they were and happily show them off to others. But what these dads did not realize was that they were saying that their daughters' worth and character were tied up in their beauty. For each girl, her acceptance as a person was based on how she looked. This proved to be disastrous and led to wrong behavior because of wrong thinking. These dads were sowing seeds of failure. Be careful what you sow in your children.

Think about your own life and the seeds your father and mother planted in you. I had a mixture of both blessings and curses. Those words of affirmation and destruction have had a powerful influence on my life. Those seeds sown deep into my psyche have impacted me greatly. I constantly must replace the lies told to me with the truth of what God says about me. Perhaps you need to do the same thing. If you were told by your parents or someone in authority and influence in your life when you were young that you were stupid, unworthy, did not measure up, or only valuable if your grades were good or your athletic ability shined, then you need to replace those sour seeds of destruction with the precious seeds of what God says about you. For example, Psalm 139:14 says you are fearfully and wonderfully made, and Zephaniah 3:17 says God rejoices over you with singing.

More about sowing and reaping in tomorrow's devotion.