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And you shall know the Truth and the Truth shall make you free. John 8:32
SOWING AND REAPING III
There have been instances where one woman would make a living and even sponsor her children’s education by prostituting herself, while another would fall into the hands of a ritual killer on her first attempt at prostitution. Indeed, a Yoruba saying goes, “ori yato s’ori” which means one person’s luck is different from that of the other person. Another saying goes, “destiny can never be changed”. Many erroneously believe that because of these axioms it does not matter what a person does – what will be will be; so they just drift along wherever life leads them. But what is responsible for luck or destiny?
Many times the process of reaping what one sows extends beyond one lifetime. That is why the disciples of Jesus asked if the man’s sins (from a previous life) caused him to be born blind (John 9:2-3). Yes, often a soul lives more than one lifetime on the earth. A good example is when God promised to send Elijah to earth again (Malachi 4:5) and Jesus confirmed that Elijah had indeed returned to earth as John the Baptist (Matthew 11:13-14, Mark 9:13).
Uriah the Hittite was a soldier in King David’s army (2 Samuel 11). He was faithful to his wife, faithful to the king, faithful to the king’s army. In the end, his wife cheated on him with the king. Then, in a war, the king’s army deserted him to his death on the king’s orders. Uriah seemed a real loser for all his faithfulness.
But in 2 Samuel 12 after the Lord spoke up against the sin of David and the fruit (child) of this sin with Bathsheba (Uriah’s widow)died, He sent word again when the same Bathsheba bore David another son after she had properly become David’s wife. The Lord called the child Jedidiah, meaning beloved of the Lord. This child was named Solomon and David swore that Solomon would become king after him (1 Kings 1:13) though he was not the king’s first son. An arrangement was thus put in place for Uriah to be compensated.
And King Solomon enjoyed the pleasures of life to the full. As Uriah, he fought many wars for King David and ended up dying at war; as King Solomon he did not fight a single war, instead he ruled over kings (2 Chronicles 9:26). As Uriah, he had only one wife whom he was faithful to, who yet betrayed him with the king; as King Solomon, he had 700 daughters of kings for wives, all to himself. King Solomon became an example of how much the Lord could lavish on a man of the good things of life (1 Kings 8 & 9). Though in end Solomon’s foreign wives turned him away from the Lord, he yet reigned 40 years, died and was buried in his honour.
So we see that the only way to attract God’s unprecedented favour and blessings is to choose to do the good and keep away from the evil, even when we feel justified to seek revenge for wrong done unto us. When God compensates us by His own divine arrangement, we receive infinitely more than we could dare imagine or ask.
Like the life cycle of living things, plants for example, the longer it takes for the seed sown (thought, word or deed) to mature the bigger the tree (harvest) – the lives of Uriah a soldier in King David’s army and King Solomon the wisest, wealthiest of kings are paradoxical indeed.
In conclusion, we do have power over what happens in our lives – that power is what we DECIDE to sow (do). Though a person has little or no power over how to reap what has been sown, reaping will always depend on what has been sown.
So let us keep away from doing the bad; if we fail in this sometimes we should do all the good that is in our power and we know is right to do, and if we fail in this sometimes we should be patient and thankful to God in difficult situations – God is good all the time.

And you shall know the Truth and the Truth shall make you free. John 8:32
SOWING AND REAPING II
One challenge arises in relation to this principle of sowing and reaping – sometimes it seems like one sows good and reaps bad or vice versa, right? Wrong. God is not an author of confusion. He is not a man that He should lie or a son of man that He should repent (Numbers 23:19). So what is the explanation of this paradox? Why does it seem that one sows good and reaps bad sometimes or sows bad and reaps good?
First, there a difference between doing what is good and doing what is right. Often things are not as they seem – good may appear to be bad and bad may appear to be good until each is further considered in the light of God’s truth, God’s Word. What is right simply is what is in line with the Creator’s master plan for that particular situation. If one does what is reputed to be the good thing to do when this is not in accordance with the Divine plan, it is NOT the right thing to do and so it will not yield the right kind of result.
However, it remains true that every good done with honest intentions will ultimately yield good; but this may be in a long, long time and few people have the patience and wisdom to wait and receive (reap) that good in due season.
Again, if A does bad to B who had actually done him good, it is only justice (balance) at work if C does bad to A in return for the good A did to him. It would appear to D who did not witness what transpired between A and B that C cheated A and went scot-free – “we know in part…” (1 Corinthians 13:9).
At a youth programme I once attended in church, a question was posed: “is it right to tell a lie or not?” Someone gave a cheeky answer: “it is OK because Jacob told a lie and thereby stole his brother Esau’s blessing”.
This answer seemed irrefutable; after all it was true that Jacob stole Esau’s blessing by means of deceit. However, on further consideration, we find that Jacob suffered deceit many times for the rest of his life from then on.
After escaping the anger of Esau, Jacob met Laban his uncle who made him serve 7 years to marry his daughter Rachel. On the wedding night he was deceitfully given Leah instead. Laban gave the excuse that it was not their way to give away the younger daughter first when Jacob discovered the fraud; he then made Jacob serve 7 more years for Rachel again!
Then Laban kept trying to short-change Jacob and changed his wages 10 times during his stay with Laban even though Jacob was family.
Afterward, Rachel, the wife whom Jacob truly loved died giving birth to Benjamin. She had deceitfully kept back from Jacob that she it was who stole her father Laban’s idols, and Jacob had decreed death to the thief in anger at Laban’s accusation of the theft (Genesis 31:32).
Jacob’s son Reuben slept with his wife (Genesis 35:22).
To cap it all for 13 years Jacob mourned the supposed death of his favourite son Joseph because his other sons deceived him into believing that a wild animal had killed Joseph.
It is interesting to note that God who regularly communicated with Jacob (Genesis 28:12-15, 30:37-43 31:11-12, 32:1-2, etc) did not reveal to Jacob what had actually happened to his Joseph through those 13 painful years.
It is not likely anyone would bargain for all that for a one-time deceit – talk about “what goes around come around even better”.
Sinful desire makes one short sighted, so that one focuses on what is to be gained or enjoyed without considering the wider picture, or the possible size of the price to be paid.
Joseph on the other hand continued to sow faithfulness and accountability everywhere he went. From his father (Genesis 37:2) to Potiphar (Genesis 39:5-6) to Prison (Genesis 39:21-24) and finally Pharaoh in the Palace (Genesis 41:40).
Joseph refused to sow unfaithfulness when his master’s wife tempted him (Genesis 39:7-12), when instead of good (trust) Potiphar repaid him evil (Genesis 39:20), or take revenge on his brothers (Genesis 45:10-11).
Because he refused to pay back evil for evil (Gen 50:20-21) patiently waiting for God (Isaiah 49:23), Joseph’s elevation to Governor of Egypt was established. He basked in the glory 80 years compared with the 13 years he spent on his journey into it. When he entered into his glory, he never once slipped. Joseph also received a double portion inheritance from his father Jacob (Genesis 48:22) and blessings to be earnestly desired (Genesis 49:23-26).
All these, almost too good to be true can and will be ours IF we choose to do good and refuse to do evil, if we choose to walk before God and be blameless (Genesis 17:1). We can choose to.

And you shall know the Truth and the Truth shall make you free. (John 8:32)
SOWING AND REAPING I
For every cause there is an effect. For every action there is a reaction. What goes around comes around (even better). All these are other ways of expressing the primal law which ensures balance in life as we know it – the law of sowing and reaping. “Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he shall reap.” (Gal 6:7)
The seasons, day and night, the natural processes, all of creation echoes this law (Gen 8:22). The sun, moon and (as science has proven) the stars are all circular in form; reminding us every way we turn that the starting point of or origin(ator) of a thing is its ultimate destination.
This law continues to be re-iterated throughout the bible. In what is popularly known as the golden rule (Matt 7:12, Luke 6:31) the Lord Jesus tells us that if we do to others as we want others to do unto us we fulfill the ‘Law and the Prophets’ i.e. God’s will. He explains why we must follow this rule. “Give and it will be given to you: good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over will be put in your bosom. For with the same measure that you use, it will be measured back to you.”(Luke 6:38). In essence what you sow (do) you reap (will be done to you) abundantly. It is neither a curse nor a blessing but a statement of fact.
For example, you complain about the state of the economy (sowing) and find more reasons to complain (reaping). Or you stand still and know that He is God (Ps 46:10)(sowing) and are led in the way you should go by the One who teaches you to profit (Is 48:17) (reaping).
Everything God allows to happen to us is because of what we decide to do, according to the fruits or works of our hands (Is 3:10).
Here is a practical example closer to us in time. In 1979 Gen Olusegun Obasanjo became the first military Head of State in Nigerian history to hand over power to a democratically elected president, President Shehu Shagari, his aide de camp looking on. 20 years later in 1999 became the first time since the 1979 event that a military Head of State would again hand over power to a democratically elected president. The Head of State handing over power was that aide de camp 20 years ago now Gen Abdulsalam Abubakar handing over power to his former boss now president elect Chief Olusegun Obasanjo!
It does not matter how close to God we claim to be or how well we can pray and call God beautiful names (and praise, holy praise is a powerful tool by the way), God’s word remains unchanged and He magnifies His word above all His name (Ps 138:2).
But after all said, the big challenge is the gap between knowing and wanting to sow good on the one hand and being able to sow good and continuing to do so on the other hand. We all face this challenge at one time or another and only Jesus can fill this gap. He alone can help us daily know to sow only good, then want to do it and actually sow only good every day onward. If we come to Him He will not cast us out (Jn 6:37). Let us come to Him today.

God bless this new month and fill it testimonies to His glory in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
“And you shall know the truth and the truth shall make you free”. The freedom here refers to freedom from sin. Sin is simply being out of alignment with the Divine Plan of abundant life, the life that the Almighty wants for us all.
In addition to posts about my music, there will be posts under the theme “And you shall know the truth and the truth shall make you free” on my page.
The focus of these posts is Christianity as it should be: freedom from sin; alignment with the Divine Plan of abundant life. Only Jesus Christ, the Truth and Word of God can give this freedom (John10:10).
May God keep us all in His love in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.