Don’t Like the Harvest? Plant Something Better

The farmer harvests the rewards of the investments made during planting season. He will reap what he sows.

Our communities are reaping the fruit of what was sown some time ago. This is true on a global scale and all the way down to the smallest unit of our communities we call family.

What does that fruit look like in your corner of the world? Take a few moments and perform a brief audit of your personal life, your relationships, workplace, and even neighborhood. What does the harvest hold from last season’s planting?

“Take a few moments and perform a brief audit of your personal life, your relationships, workplace, and even neighborhood. What does the harvest hold from last season’s planting?”

One thing we learn from the farmer is that today’s fruit tells us about yesterday’s seed. What kind of seed have we been sowing in the fields called family and community?

Our news headlines are full of stories about breakdowns in mental health, rampant violence, ugly political division, and economic hardship. Relationships are fraying and in deep states of disrepair.

The farmer is not surprised in harvest season that the tomato seeds he planted during planting season are now emerging as tomatoes.

When we notice division and ugliness blossoming in our world, like the wise farmer, we should surmise that division and ugliness were planted some time ago.

Could it be that during planting season we were thoughtlessly sowing selfishness and hostility?

We reap what we sow.

Don’t Like the Harvest? Plant Something Better.

Some time ago, I realized that I did not like one particular product the fields of my life were producing. I discovered that I was too often annoyed, perturbed, and worse yet, distracted.

It did not take me long to realize that the culprit was social media.

When there was a lull in the day, I found myself reaching for my phone to scroll.

It is easy to criticize other people for being occupied with their phones. It is always easier to see the speck in your brother’s eye and to miss the plank in your own.

I do not want to be a distracted, irritated person so I decided to plant something better. I removed the Facebook app from my phone. At first, I found myself reaching for the phone during those lulls in the day. Over time, I stopped reaching. I did not get rid of all social media. Instead, I moved it to a medium that is not always on me: my laptop. I found that I check social media far less frequently and engage in much healthier patterns.

By ceasing to invest my time in social media, I started investing my time in more worthy ventures like more actively engaging the people present with me, coaching Little League baseball, or picking up a book to read instead of scrolling on my phone.

Sure, there are times when I feel like I am somehow missing out or out of touch with what is happening on social media. But something tells me that none of us will be lamenting at the end of life that we had not scrolled a little bit more.

I will regret not spending more time throwing a baseball with my boys.

I will regret not having more active conversations with my girls.

I will regret looking back over the hours I spent laser-focused, scrolling through my phone, and realizing that I have nothing to show for it except more annoyance and distraction.

For some time now I have been planting something better in my own fields. And surprise, surprise, I find myself enjoying people more, experiencing more peace, and overall satisfaction.

We reap what we sow.

We cannot expect to reap fields of love, unity, fulfilling relationships, and strong mental health by planting the same kind of seed.

They say that insanity is doing the same things over and over and expecting different results.

If we want better personal relationships, we have to make better investments. We must make little investments in relationships and develop simple skills like asking questions and learning to listen.

If we desire more loving, unified communities, then we must begin planting seeds like love and active service.

What will tomorrow’s harvest hold for us? The answer lies in what each of us is planting TODAY.

So, don’t delay. Plant something better.