“For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s.” 1 Corinthians 6:20
How can we glorify God in our bodies? Today, I read these statements, “SOW A THOUGHT, REAP AN ACTION. SOW AN ACTION, REAP A HABIT. SOW A HABIT, REAP A CHARACTER. SOW A CHARACTER, REAP A DESTINY.“ Each statement is profoundly accurate in and of itself, but altogether, they teach a powerful lesson. They can all, individually or collectively be positive or negative. We decide; each and every one of us.
Oftentimes, when we speak of sin in our lives, we refer to it as “falling or being fallen in sin”, as though it slipped upon us, completely unawares! We say it as if sin came out of nowhere and swooped down, making us its victim. We say, “We just couldn’t help it”, or like Flip Wilson, a comedian popular in the 1970′s, used to say (in his, then famous Geraldine act), “the devil made me do it!” But, understand this–Flip was wrong and so are we when we say these things. The adversary does not have unbridled power over any child of God! When we sin, we make a decision to sin.
In James’ letter to the Jewish saints, he wrote, “let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man: but every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed. Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin when it is finished, bringeth forth death. Do not err my beloved brethren.” That word “sow“, leads to conception. Whatever we sow in our minds, will be conceived in our hearts and spirits. Think of the process of conception of life–the sperm is “sown” in a woman, and only then is a child conceived; or think of sowing seeds, with the purpose of reaping a harvest of crops. What you plant is what you will reap–if you sow corn then you will reap corn–if the harvest is successful. We don’t plant corn, and expect potatoes. It is the same with our spiritual lives. Sowing and reaping is a law that translates to many areas of our existence.
Let us be clear about the thought process. “HAVING“ a thought, is not synonymous to “SOWING” one. ALL of us have ungodly thoughts. What we do with those thoughts, determines our path. When evil thoughts come, we always make a decision–instantaneously, whether we will entertain the thought (sowing it–causing it to grow and germinate, in our minds). In that case, it extends to our hearts and we are well on our way to defilement. On the other hand, when we decide to rebuke the evil thought (choosing rather to think on things that are “true…honest…just…pure…lovely and of good report Philippians 4:8), we have a “better” outcome. As we refuse to allow satan’s influence to take root in our minds, that halts the growth of wickedness, and satan is unable to proceed further with his devilish contamination of our hearts. That is how we guard our hearts.
In close examination of the sowing process, in Scripture, we get a clear picture: ”The operation of a sowing with the hand is one of so simple a character as to need little description. The Egyptian paintings furnish many illustrations of the mode in which it was conducted. The sower held the vessel or basket containing the seed in his left hand, while with his right he scattered the seed broadcast. The “drawing out” of the seed is noticed, as the most characteristic action of the sower”—Smith’s Bible Dictionary. It can then be understood that sowing involves the attention and purposeful action of the sower. Another point, in Scripture, regarding sowing is the prohibition of sowing “mixed” seeds (see Leviticus 19:19). We cannot sow both godly thoughts and evil thoughts–we must choose. There is no serving of two masters! Another picture, in (Isaiah 32:20), shows the process of sowing in wet soil–for this process, animals were used. The seed was “trodden” by the feet of animals. Picture that, loose wet soil and heavy beasts of burden, forcing the seeds deep into the soil! Don’t allow satan to tread upon filthy thoughts in your mind, forcing them deep into your consciousness, where they will then be transferred to your heart, only to produce the fruits of unrighteousness!!! Once this occurs, you will begin to act unrighteously and so reap the penalty of unrighteousness. Watch out for that slippery slope!
Sin, then, does not sneak up on us and catch us off guard–it happens only when we allow ourselves to “sow a thought”. That is how it begins. It can be difficult–for the writer of the Proverbs, tells us, “Good understanding giveth favor: but the way of transgressors is hard.” What makes one a transgressor? Allowing ungodly thoughts to take root in us–then it is hard, to remove them before we act upon them. Don’t be a transgressor. Remember, it never starts with a big thing–if it did, we would not be so easily caught up in sin, but satan is cunning. It is the “little foxes” that destroy us–eating away at our destiny.