The Law Of the Farm

GAL 6:7 Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. [8] The one who sows to please his sinful nature, from that nature will reap destruction; the one who sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life. [9] Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. [10] Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers.

MT 7:1 "Do not judge, or you too will be judged. [2] For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.

LK 6:37 "Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven. [38] Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you."

The Law of the Farm is simply profound.  We know it very well in our minds but are not diligent in it’s practice.  One would have to ask oneself how deeply beliefs are held if they are not practiced.  It is this.  The season of harvest is intertwined with the season of sowing or planting.  What you put in the ground will determine what you get out of it.  The quantity of the harvest is determined by the season of sowing.  The nature of the crop is determined by the type of seed that is sown.

Hosea 10:12 - What do we sow?

With the same measure you use. . . .

God does not obligate himself to prove himself in any way as a contingency of your belief.  It is our privilege to know Him - not vice versa.

There seems to be this general feeling that God is on probation in many people's lives.  If he performs well enough we will accept or retain him.

Expectation is the enemy of intimacy.

We reap in proportion to what we sow.

What we harvest tells us what we have sown - tares among the wheat.

Unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies.

Count the loss. . .

Sow to the wrong nature

What kinds of seeds are there?

“Here’s the third key to wealth and happiness.  You must learn to handle financial pressure.  The only way not to have financial pressure is not to have any finances.  There are many kinds of financial pressure and they have destroyed many people.  They can create good, envy, deceit, paranoia.  They can rob you of your sensitivity or rob you of your friends.  Now remember, I said that they can, not that they will.  Handling financial pressure means knowing how to get and knowing how to give, knowing how to earn and knowing how to save.

When I first started to make money, I started to catch hell  for it.  My friends disowned me.  They said, “You’re into money.  What’s your problem?”  I said, “I’m not into money.  I just have some.”  They wouldn’t see it that way.  People somehow suddenly perceive me as a different person because I had a different financial status.  Some were very resentful.  So that’s one kind of financial pressure.  Not having enough money is another kind of financial pressure.  You probably feel that pressure every day.  Most people do.  But whether you have a lot or a little, you deal with financial pressure.

Remember that all our actions in life are guided by our philosophies, our guiding internal representations about how to act.  They give us the models of how to behave.  George S. Clason provided a great model for learning to handle financial pressure in The Richest Man in Babylon.  Have you read it?  If so, read it again.  If not, run out and get it now.  It’s a book that can make you totally wealthy, happy, and excited.  To me, the most important thing the book teaches is to take 10% of all you earn up front and give it away.  That’s right.  Why?  One reason is that you should put back what you take out.  Another is that it creates value for you and for others.  Most important it says to the world and to your own subconscious that there is more than enough.  And that’s a very powerful belief to nurture.  If there’s more than enough that means that you can have what you want and others can too.  And when you hold that thought, you make it come true.

When do you start to give the 10% away?  When you’re rich and famous?  No.  You should do it when you’re starting out.  Because what you give away becomes like your seed corn.  You’ve got to invest it not eat it., and the best way to invest it is to give it away so that it produces value for others.  You won’t have trouble finding the ways.  There is need all around us.  One of the most valuable things about doing this is how this makes you feel about yourself.  When you’re the kind of person who tries to find and fill other people’s needs, it makes you feel differently about who you are.  And from those kinds of feelings or states, you live your life in an attitude of gratitude.

THE LAW OF GIVING

When you give of yourself you will receive in return.

And it pays the best dividends.

There is a universal Law Of Giving which dictates that by giving you will receive.  It defies all logic.  The thinking mind cannot comprehend how this can be so because the two actions are in direct contradiction to each other.

It is a sort of paradox.  Trying to figure it out could cause you to spin in circles.  You get by giving?  It sounds absurd.  Here I am telling you to develop your thinking while at the same time I'm giving you a principle that doesn't seem to make sense.

Giving freely of yourself and your time, money, attention, etc. to others pays you the best return on your investment.  Keeping things to yourself selfishly causes what you do have to remain the same or even to dwindle.

It almost takes an act of faith to understand why this is so.  Our thinking minds will almost short circuit while attempting to decipher the concept.

Let me interchange "subconscious mind" and "heart" to make it easier to understand.  Here is what I've come up with:  The reason you receive by giving is because WHEN YOU GIVE,

IT CHANGES *YOU*, IT CHANGES YOUR HEART!

And when you are transformed on the subconscious level, all kinds of unexpected things happen.  People have been rewarded in all kinds of ways when they gave.

Relationships with people are a two-way street.  When you plant good seeds in their life, they will reciprocate by planting good seeds in your life.  The tree that grows in *YOU* as a result produces more fruit, providing more seed for you to reinvest.  It's an ongoing loop that grows, provided that you continue to plant.

I'm getting ahead of myself.  There is a clincher, one that most are not willing to try out for long enough because they are not patient and want immediate results.  The clincher is this: YOU MUST GIVE WILLINGLY AND WITH NO THOUGHT OF GETTING IN RETURN.

This ties in with planting good seeds in others.  It must be done with no expectation for reward.  And it must be done long term.  Every day.  Day after day.  Selflessly.  Cheerfully.

With a great attitude.  With a sincere desire to help others any way you can.

If your first thought is like mine was when I realized this, you are probably thinking, "Even if this did make sense, it's not fair!  People will just take advantage of me.  I don't wanna just keep giving and giving, I wanna get something in return!"  We all must undergo the change of heart that happens as a result  of adopting a giving attitude.

The return comes as a result of the hearts of other people responding to what they sense in you.  Sure, some might take what you are offering and run, but so what?  Who cares?  For

every person that does this there are many others who will give you a much greater return than what you invested in their lives.

Give freely of yourself today!

Ernie West

Some Things We Can’t Do

 (1) Sow bad habits and reap a good character.

 (2) Sow jealously and hatred and reap love and friendship.

 (3) Sow wicked thoughts and reap a clean life.

 (4) Sow wrong deeds and live righteously.

 (5) Sow crime and get away with it.

 (6) Sow dissipation and reap a healthy body.

 (7) Sow crooked dealings and succeed indefinitely.

 (8) Sow self-indulgence and not show it in your face.

 (9) Sow disloyalty and reap loyalty from others.

(10) Sow dishonesty and reap integrity.

(11) Sow profane words and reap clean speech.

(12) Sow disrespect and reap respect.

(13) Sow deception and reap confidence.

(14) Sow untidiness and reap neatness.

(15) Sow intemperance and reap sobriety and temperance.

(16) Sow indifference and reap nature’s rewards.

(17) Sow mental or physical laziness and reap a responsible position in society.

(18) Sow cruelty and reap kindness.

(19) Sow wastefulness and reap thriftiness.

(20) Sow cowardice and reap courage.

(21) Sow destruction of other people’s property and reap protection for our own.

(22) Sow greed and envy and reap generosity.

(23) Sow neglect of the Lord’s house and reap strength in temptation.

(24) Sow neglect of the Bible and reap a well-guided life.

(25) Sow human thistles and reap human roses. [1]

Your life as it is, is an indication of the investment that you have made.

----

[1]Tan, Paul Lee, Encyclopedia of 7,700 Illustrations, (Garland, Texas: Bible Communications, Inc.) 1996.