Sowing and Reaping

Go into the fields and country lanes in the spring-time, and you will see farmers and gardeners busy sowing seeds in the newly prepared soil. If you were to ask any one of those gardeners or farmers what kind of produce he expected from the seed he was sowing, he would doubtless regard you as foolish, and would tell you that he does not "expect" at all, that it is a matter of common knowledge that his produce will be of the kind which he is sowing, and that he is sowing wheat, or barley, or turnips, as the case may be, in order to reproduce that particular kind.

Go into the fields and country lanes in spring, and you will see farmers and gardeners sowing seeds in freshly prepared soil. If you asked one of them what crop he expected from the seeds, he would likely think you foolish. He would tell you that he does not "expect" anything. It is common knowledge that the crop will be the same kind as the seed he is sowing. He is sowing wheat, barley, or turnips, as the case may be, to produce that particular crop.

Every fact and process in Nature contains a moral lesson for the wise man. There is no law in the world of Nature around us which is not to be found operating with the same mathematical certainty in the mind of man and in human life. All the parables of Jesus are illustrative of this truth, and are drawn from the simple facts of Nature. There is a process of seed-sowing in the mind and life, a spiritual sowing which leads to a harvest according to the kind of seed sown. Thoughts, words, and acts are seeds sown, and, by the inviolable law of things, they produce after their kind.

Every fact and process in nature holds a moral lesson for the wise. Every law in the natural world also operates in the human mind and in human life with the same mathematical certainty. All the parables of Jesus illustrate this truth and draw on simple facts of nature. Seeds are sown in the mind and in life. This spiritual sowing leads to a harvest that depends on the kind of seed sown. Thoughts, words, and actions are seeds. By the unbreakable law of things, they produce a harvest of their own kind.

The man who thinks hateful thoughts brings hatred upon himself. The man who thinks loving thoughts is loved. The man whose thoughts, words, and acts are sincere, is surrounded by sincere friends; the insincere man is surrounded by insincere friends. The man who sows wrong thoughts and deeds, and prays that God will bless him, is in the position of a farmer who, having sown tares, asks God to bring forth for him a harvest of wheat.

A man who thinks hateful thoughts brings hatred upon himself. A man who thinks loving thoughts is loved. A man whose thoughts, words, and actions are sincere is surrounded by sincere friends. An insincere man is surrounded by insincere friends. A man who sows wrong thoughts and deeds and prays for God’s blessing is like a farmer who plants weeds. The farmer then asks God to bring him a harvest of wheat.

He who would be blest, let him scatter blessings. He who would be happy, let him consider the happiness of others.

If you want to be blessed, spread blessings. If you want to be happy, consider the happiness of others.

Then there is another side to this seed sowing. The farmer must scatter all his seed upon the land, and then leave it to the elements. Were he to covetously hoard his seed, he would lose both it and his produce, for his seed would perish. It perishes when he sows it, but in perishing it brings forth a greater abundance. So in life, we get by giving; we grow rich by scattering. The man who says he is in possession of knowledge which he cannot give out because the world is incapable of receiving it, either does not possess such knowledge, or, if he does, will soon be deprived of it—if he is not already so deprived. To hoard is to lose; to exclusively retain is to be dispossessed.

There is another side to sowing seeds. The farmer must scatter all his seed on the land and then leave it to the elements. If he greedily hoarded his seed, he would lose both the seed and his crop, because the seed would perish. The seed also perishes when he sows it, but in doing so, it produces a greater abundance. So in life, we gain by giving. We grow rich by scattering. A man may say he has knowledge he cannot share because the world is unable to receive it. Either he does not have that knowledge, or, if he does, he will soon lose it, if he has not already. To hoard is to lose. To keep everything for oneself is to be left with nothing.

Even the man who would increase his material wealth must be willing to part with (invest) what little capital he has, and then wait for the increase. So long as he retains his hold on his precious money, he will not only remain poor, but will be growing poorer every day. He will, after all, lose the thing he loves, and will lose it without increase. But if he wisely lets it go; if, like the farmer, he scatters his seeds of gold, then he can faithfully wait for, and reasonably expect, the increase.

Even a man who wants to increase his wealth must be willing to invest what little money he has. Then he must wait for it to grow. As long as he holds on to his precious money, he will not only remain poor. He will grow poorer every day. In the end, he will lose the money he loves without gaining anything from it. But if he wisely lets it go, like a farmer scattering seeds of gold, he can wait with confidence. He can reasonably expect his money to grow.

Men are asking God to give them peace and purity, and righteousness and blessedness, but are not obtaining these things; and why not? Because they are not practising them, not sowing them. I once heard a preacher pray very earnestly for forgiveness, and shortly afterwards, in the course of his sermon, he called upon his congregation to "show no mercy to the enemies of the church." Such self-delusion is pitiful, and men have yet to learn that the way to obtain peace and blessedness is to scatter peaceful and blessed thoughts, words, and deeds.

People ask God to give them peace, purity, righteousness, and happiness, but they do not receive them. Why not? Because they are not practicing these things or sowing their seeds. I once heard a preacher pray very earnestly for forgiveness. Soon afterward, during his sermon, he called on his congregation to "show no mercy to the enemies of the church." Such self-deception is pitiful. People have yet to learn that the way to find peace and happiness is to spread peaceful and uplifting thoughts, words, and deeds.

Men believe that they can sow the seeds of strife, impurity, and unbrotherliness, and then gather in a rich harvest of peace, purity, and concord by merely asking for it. What more pathetic sight than to see an irritable and quarrelsome man praying for peace. Men reap that which they sow, and any man can reap all blessedness now and at once, if he will put aside selfishness, and sow broadcast the seeds of kindness, gentleness, and love.

People believe they can sow seeds of conflict, impurity, and hostility, then reap peace, purity, and harmony simply by asking for them. What could be more pathetic than seeing an irritable, quarrelsome man praying for peace? People reap what they sow. Anyone can reap every blessing right now, if they put aside selfishness and sow seeds of kindness, gentleness, and love everywhere.

If a man is troubled, perplexed, sorrowful, or unhappy, let him ask:

If a man is troubled, confused, sorrowful, or unhappy, let him ask:

"What mental seeds have I been sowing?"

"What mental seeds have I been planting?"

"What seeds am I sowing?

"What seeds am I sowing?

"What have I done for others?"

"What have I done for others?"

"What is my attitude towards others?"

"How do I feel about others?"

"What seeds of trouble and sorrow and unhappiness have I sown that I should thus reap these bitter weeds?"

"What seeds of trouble, sorrow, and unhappiness have I planted to reap these bitter weeds?"

Let him seek within and find, and having found, let him abandon all the seeds of self, and sow, henceforth, only the seeds of Truth.

Let him search within himself and find. Once he has found, let him give up all the seeds of self and plant only the seeds of Truth from then on.

Let him learn of the farmer the simple truths of wisdom.

Let him learn the simple truths of wisdom from the farmer.