reaping and sowing

The concrete floor was cold and hard, but there’s no way I could walk. And the pain, oh my, the pain.

My dad heard me scream and came running to my rescue. The look of sympathy on his face changed to anger, however, when I explained how it all happened.

It wasn’t an accident as he had assumed—I had stupidly tried jumping down the entire flight of basement stairs. I almost made it, too—missed it by an inch or two.

But that last inch or two messed up my ankle big-time: a fracture and a torn ligament.

My dad made sure I got the medical help I needed, but made it crystal clear he wasn’t happy with me. After all, my pain and suffering was self-inflicted. There’s no way I could shake my fist at God and say, “Why me, Lord, why me?!”

Duh. This is what happens when you try and jump down an entire flight of stairs. Duh again.

As a minister, sometimes I want to share that embarrassing story with others who, in my estimation, have misplaced anger with God over something bad that’s happened to them. The purpose would be to point out the obvious: Your problem appears to be self-inflicted, so why bring God into it?

All of them, to one extent or another, were angry and bitter at God for allowing these bad things to happen to them. And all of them had trouble accepting blame for their situations. Instead, they wanted to blame their Creator.

For instance, how could a long-time smoker not connect the dots when he or she gets lung cancer? What about an alcoholic who’s puzzled over ongoing liver problems? Or how about a woman who sleeps around but is then surprised—and devastated—when she gets pregnant?

It never ceases to amaze me how some people refuse to accept responsibility for their actions and instead blame the Lord.

A verse comes to mind. It’s probably the same one that occurred to you.

“Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows.”1

We reap what we sow. For instance, if we try and jump down an entire flight of stairs, well, we shouldn’t be surprised if we mess up our ankle. And we certainly can’t blame God for the choices that we, ourselves, have made. We own the consequences. Period.

What about you? Before you shake your head in amazement over those who are apparently blind to the negative consequences of their actions, I encourage you to make a quick life check.

Are you involved with things that may turn out bad? Are you taking foolish or unnecessary risks? If so, make sure you have your eyes wide open and recognize that things might not turn out well.

And if and when they turn sour, please don’t blame God.

After all, we reap what we sow.

1  Gal 6:7