YOU REAP WHAT YOU SOW -YOUR SINS WILL BE
PUNISHED - THE WAGES OF SIN IS DEATH
The
ancient Jew, Saul of Tarsus gave us some good advice in the New Testament:
"Be not
deceived, God is not mocked; whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he
reap."
(Galatians 6:7)
"For
the wages of sin (is) death; but the gift of God is eternal life through
Jesus Christ our Lord."
(Romans 6:23)
LORD
BYRON'S WORDS OF WARNING - YOU REAP WHAT YOU SOW - YOUR SINS WILL BE
PUNISHED
The
thorns of the tree that I have planted, have reaped me: and I have
bled. I should have known that such fruit would have sprung, from
such a
seed.
- Lord Byron
Hindsight
is always better than foresight, and the pride of experience is often very
costly! Lord Byron must have written out of personal experience, in
order to drive home such a powerful message is so few words. Lord Byron
realized that he was reaping what he sowed.
YOU
REAP WHAT YOU SOW -
"Be
not deceived, God is not mocked; whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he
reap."
(Galatians 6:7)
The
poem is both a lament, a sign of regret and a confession of a reckless,
foolish and willful act.
Lord
Byron's poem is more than that. It is an admonition and warning to
others who might make the same mistake, watch what you do, be careful what
you reap in life, because you will sow it in the end.
Byron
makes a lot of sense. Too bad he could not have got through to
Sigmund Freud before the he put together his harmful "psycho
analysis" package and before he hooked on the merits of cocaine use
among professionals and others.
WHINERS
BLAME OTHER PEOPLE
If
Byron
could have gotten his message of "you reap what you sow" across
to Sigmund Freud, we possibly wouldn't today have an entire
generation blaming other people for their problems, which in many cases
are self inflicted. These people are reaping what they sowed.
They are reaping the rewards of a negative life style. They are
reaping the rewards of bad decisions and a destructive lifestyle.
ITS
EASY TO BLAME OTHERS FOR YOUR PROBLEMS
"Be
not deceived, God os not mocked; whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he
reap."
(Galatians 6:7)
Its
so easy to blame it on George or Mary, when in fact, "it's not my
brother or my sister, but it's me, O Lord, that's standing in the need of
prayer."
PRESIDENT
HENRY TRUMAN SAID 'the buck stops here'.
Lord
Byron's choice in words is so notable: "The thorns of the tree that I
have planted, have reaped me!"
Lord
Byron takes full responsibility for his own actions. And the thorns
reap him,
he does not reap the thorns, although he often say, "You'll reap what
you sow"!
But
Byron brings home even more powerfully - "AND I HAVE BLED" -
that the results of your wrong doing will follow you, track you down and
punish you. Your sins will be punished. You will reap what you
sow.
There
is an old say, "You've made your bed; now you must sleep in it."
PROMISCUITY
BRINGS PUNISHMENT
"Be
not deceived, God not mocked; whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he
reap."
(Galatians 6:7)
If
you don't believe that promiscuity brings punishment, ask the homosexual
who frequented gay bars and is now dying with AIDS. If you don't
believe that you 'reap what you sow', ask the promiscuous swinger who
"slept around" and now has genital herpes or the teenager who
has to sell her body to satisfy the craving in her veins and the demands
of an "evil pimp"".
'John
Evans celebrated his 109th birthday in 1986, receiving hundreds of
congratulatory greetings - among those one signed Elizabeth R.
When
interviewed on BBC Television as to the secret of his longevity, the
Welshman stated. "I never drank alcohol or smoked and I don't
swear." His mind was clear as a well, his speech impeccable and
his manner polite.
As
I tried to analyze the weight of his words, I suddenly realized the
greatness of his philosophy. Its not smart to smoke, its not smart to
drink alcohol and its not smart to swear.
ITS
NOT SMART TO SMOKE
When
I was a teenager, it was smart to SMOKE; teachers, doctors, liberal
clergymen, politicians and farmers smoked. Only prudes and religious
evangelicals didn't smoke. Many athletes smoked. I must
confess that when I won the Saskatchewan title for the half mile, I had
cigarettes in my locker.
Things
have certainly changed in the past 5 decades. Now, if you are a
smoker, people shun you. You're considered an air polluter, a safety
hazard and a poor insurance risk.
And
if you continue smoking, the odds are good that the local undertaker will
have your name on his files before long.
YOU
DO REAP WHAT YOU SOW
It's
sad, but Byron warned us - didn't he? "I should have known that such
fruit would have sprung from such a seed."
DRINKING
is a scourge in our land. Even though it still seems popular to drink
socially, the cost to our society is enormous. Thousands of highway
deaths through alcohol related accidents, millions of dollars spent on
welfare due to broken marriages, as well as the poor job performance
of the "half man."
WHY
DO PEOPLE SWEAR?
It
took me a while to figure out that one. Why do people swear?
Some people swear because they have a poor vocabulary and use oaths as a
fill in. Others think they are macho or wit it when they swear, and
it gives them a sense of authority.'
Many
people, however, swear because they are frustrated, any, jealous or
bitter. And all these contribute to ulcers, heart trouble, insomnia, high
blood pressure and death.
Have
we forgotten the 3rd commandment that states,
"Thou shalt not take
the name of the LORD thy God in vain; for the LORD will not hold him
guiltless that taketh His name in vain."
(Exodus 20:7)
WHAT
DOES IT MEAN TO TAKE THE LORD'S NAME IN VAIN?
If
you use the name of God, the Lord or Jesus Christ is any way as a negative
such as in swearing, cursing and damning people, you are taking the Lord's
name in vain. The Lord's name is Holy and is to be used only in
prayer, praise or speaking of the Lord.
THE
LORD WILL NOT FIND YOU GUILTLESS FOR TAKING HIS NAME IN VAIN
When
you use the Lord's name in vain you are breaking this commandment. (Exodus
20:7) No wonder so many people struggle through life with a host of
problems, setbacks, tragedies and turmoil, when they constantly curse and
swear. If you break this commandment you will reap what you sow.
Finally,
that ancient Jew, Saul of Tarsus gave us some good advice in the New
Testament: "Be
not deceived, God not mocked; whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he
reap."
(Galatians 6:7)
The
Bible says,
"For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;"
(Romans 3:23) The truth of the matter is that we have all sinned. "For
the wages of sin (is) death; but the gift of God is eternal life through
Jesus Christ our Lord."
(Romans 6:23)
We
are all guilty and we have all sinned, but there is good news.
Jesus Christ died for the ungodly. He took my place and paid my
penalty. Your sins can be forgiven, Jesus Christ is willing to
forgive your sins and set you free. You will no longer continue to
live a life of sin.
“For
when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the
ungodly. For scarcely for a righteous man will one die: yet peradventure
for a good man some would even dare to die. But God commendeth His love
toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Much
more then, being now justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath
through Him.”
(Romans 5:6-9)
It
seems to me that Evans, Byron and St. Paul must have got their good advice
from the same source.
WHAT
MUST I DO TO BE SAVED?
You
may say, “That’s well and good for them, but what about me? What
should I do to change my unhappy and sinful lifestyle? What do I need to
do in order to get some meaning in my life”?
Only
Jesus Christ has the power to transform any life, including yours, my
friend. The good news is that you can change the course of your
life, you can reap good things, so that you sow good things. You can
change the patterns of your life and in doing so, what you reap will be
positive, good things, instead of bad, negative results.
Simply
approach God our Heavenly Father in prayer in the Name of His Son, Jesus
Christ and He will forgive you and give you Eternal Life and something to
live for.
The
Bible says, “If any man (person) be in Christ Jesus he is a new
creation. Old things are passed away, all things become new”. (2
Corinthians 5:17)
And
remember that God loves you and desires to give you fulfillment, peace,
joy and happiness.
