“You Don’t Reap What You Sow”
Learn these 7 Principles and Practices of the Harvest to Help you get What you Want
“Let us not lose heart in doing good, for in due time we will reap if we do not grow weary.” — Gal 6:9
A close friend told me that her activity level with her clients does not match her revenue because most of her work has been pro bono. “I am busy, but it is not translating to Dollars and Cents.” I encouraged her to look at it as sowing, and she will not reap what she is sowing. The base in her voice went up a notch as she asked, “what do you mean?”
Let me explain, I said.
Recently, I had the pleasure of hosting a wonderful couple who have become family to me. Their stay made my “marringle” house feel like a home. Although our food was always ordered in or dined out, we had the most fun moments over meals. During our first breakfast on a Saturday, they asked if I get Sierra Leonean dishes in Dubai for them to try. I was sad to disappoint them. But the question reminded me of my childhood experience of sharing Mama’s cooking with my friends. I told them that a story of one of my after-school meal experiences with my friends made it to my book.
Having sparked their curiosity, they asked which of the six lessons was my favourite? I took a long pause, flipped through the pages and stopped at page 103, chapter 16. It was my first and deeply engrained lesson about giving and receiving. One day, I asked Mama why she was making me share the little food we had, depriving of food for the rest of the day. I felt she was punishing me for bringing my friends home, while I knew they followed me home because of her cooking.
“Give, and it will be given to you. Good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you.” – Luke 6:38
Mama said that whatever you are willing to give to others will increase your life — tangible or intangible. If you want to be happy, make others happy. If you’re going to feel love, show love to others. To make money, you must be willing to give money.
Chapter 16 of my book is titled, Empower Others To Be Empowered. This principle has become the core of my philosophy.
“You don’t reap what you sow; you reap much more.” — Jim Rohn
Jim Rohn’s view about the harvest made this lesson even more profound to me.
I believe you can also benefit from understanding the seven principles and practices I have learnt about sowing and reaping.
1) You reap the product you sow. You don’t get mangoes if you plant oranges; you get mangoes. If you share knowledge, you learn.
Lesson: Sow what you want to reap. If you sow good, you reap good. If you sow bad, you reap bad.
2) You reap much more than you sow. If you plant a handful of maise, you harvest a field.
Lesson: You get more than you put it.
3) There are many ways of sowing.
Lesson: If you want to do something, you will find a way. And if you don’t, you will find an excuse.
4) The law of sowing and reaping is universal and permanent. Anyone who sows will reap.
Lesson: the law applies to everyone at every time; don’t try to circumvent it.
5) Sow in fertile grounds. If a farmer sows on rocky ground, the crops will die.
Lesson: Give your time, energy or money to people or causes that are deserving and not for your gain or glory.
6) You can lose what you sow. A storm or flood can wipe out a farmer’s field of crops, but he will plant in the next session.
Lesson: You will sometimes fail not by any fault of yours. But you must get up and try again, learning to “discipline your disappointments.”
7) If you don’t sow, you don’t reap. The farmer has to put his seeds on the soil to reap a harvest.
Lesson: Whatever you desire but do not have is something you have not sown. There is no receiving without giving.
The law of sowing and reaping can be positive and negative; you can make it work for or against you. But most important, it is the foundation for accountability. So, if you do not like what you are getting, check what you are planting.
Invest your time, money and energy wisely because how and where you invest will determine the outcomes in your life.
Book recommendations
I recommend these two books to help you understand the principles, laws and benefits of sowing and reaping.
a) Sowing and Reaping — by Dwight L Moody (Rating: 5 stars)
The illustrations in this book will challenge you to reflect on what is dictating the outcomes you are getting in your life — what are you sowing?
b) How To Be Accountable — by Joe Beil and Faith G Harper (Rating: 4.5 stars)
Accountability is our responsibility. We must choose to hold ourselves accountable. The authors help us understand the meaning, principles and practices of accountability through their personal and professional journeys to help us live the life we want.
Citations
These three quotes will keep you accountable.
“Sow a thought, and you reap an act; Sow an act, and you reap a habit; Sow a habit, and you reap a character; Sow a character, and you reap a destiny.” — Charles Reade
“Don’t judge each day by the harvest you reap but by the seeds that you plant.” — Robert Louis Stevenson
“There would be no advantage to be gained by sowing a field of wheat if the harvest did not return more than was sown.” — Napoleon Hill
