Sowing and Reaping the Whirlwind

I have heard the Law of Sowing and Reaping explained like this:

1) You always reap what you sow

2) You always reap after you sow

3) You always reap in proportion as you sow

We reap what we sow. That is, if we plant apples we harvest apples. If we plant oranges we harvest oranges. We do not plant one thing and harvest something different. If we plant apples we do not harvest oranges. The harvest corresponds exactly to the planting. What we give is what we get. If we sow to the flesh we reap from the flesh. If we sow from the Spirit we reap from the Spirit. If I sow kindness I’ll reap kindness. If I sow anger I’ll reap anger.

The harvest season always comes after the planting season. A farmer must be patient. If he expects immediately results he will be disappointed. He does not plant in the morning and then go the nest morning with a basket—unless he planted mushrooms. We have to wait for the seed to germinate and sprout. This takes time. God sends the sunshine and the rain. “And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart” (Galatians 6:9, NKJV).

Finally, we reap in proportion as we sow. In other words, if we sow sparingly we reap sparingly. If we sow abundantly we reap abundantly.

The third part of this law is the only one that is flexible. Hosea 8:7 says, “they sow the wind and they reap the whirlwind.” In other words, they got worse than they gave. But there are also times when we get better than we deserve. So we best not argue with this component of the law!