Sowing and Reaping
Most religions believe in the concept that what we send out into the world in the form of thoughts and actions will be returned to us. Thus if we love and respect others, we will be loved and respected. If we hate others or do violence to them, we will be on the receiving end of hatred and violence.
The Bible says, “As you sow, so shall you reap.” It has also been stated as, “What goes around comes around.” Many Eastern religions and philosophies believe in karma, a moral law of cause and effect.
I think most people who have any interest in religion or spirituality believe that our thoughts and actions have consequences. Thus, they believe in the principle of sowing and reaping. I often like to think of it as throwing the boomerang in life. You send your actions and thoughts into the world, and they come back to you at some later date. You are treated as you have treated others.
I’ll be the first to admit that this principle is not as simple as it first appears. We’ve all read stories about parents who seem to be kind, ethical people – and yet several of their children die in tragic accidents or from unexpected diseases. What could the parents possibly have done to deserve such a fate? Some explain this by referring to consequences from “past lives.” I do not pass judgment on the issue of past lives, but I’ve never found it helpful to consider the issue from that angle.
What seems easier to accept, and what I have seen in my own life, is how the principle operates when we view the recurring patterns in our lives – the events or experiences that happen over and over again. Those recurring patterns do not appear to happen “by accident” – and whether or not we can prove it – at least we have the sense that the principle of sowing and reaping is operating.
It’s relatively easy to accept the concept when we look at the positive things flowing into our lives. When we receive love and appreciation, we can see that we are being treated this way because we extended love and appreciation to others. We believe that our business success is the result of seeds we have planted, of diligent efforts we have made.
I’ve noticed that we tend to disregard the principle of sowing and reaping when we are on the receiving end of negative treatment. Thus, nations go to war with each other and neither will admit their “responsibility” for the violence. If sowing and reaping is operating, then nations on the receiving end of violence somehow have perpetrated acts of violence. As they say, “live by the sword, die by the sword.”
Yet you don’t often hear this kind of responsibility. You hear things like, “They started it. We are just responding to their violence.”
The same is true of individuals. We may complain about the lack of love in our lives or the fact that we are encountering much judgment and criticism. If this is happening, isn’t it because of something we have sowed? If we find love or friendship lacking in our lives, wouldn’t that mean that we are somehow withholding love and friendship from others?
I suppose the ego wants to take credit for the positive things and to deny responsibility for the negative things that show up in our lives.
Take a moment and consider the experiences that are showing up in your life right now. Can you see how you might be contributing to the positive AND to what you label as negative? Something tells me that if the principle of sowing and reaping is valid, it must be working at both ends, contributing both to what we like and what we don’t like.
– Jeff Keller
© 2008
Note: This message is not intended to be a thorough examination of the principle of sowing and reaping or karma. It examines only a very limited aspect of these concepts.