Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap. For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life. [Gal 6:7-8 ESV]
The writer begins with “DO NOT BE DECEIVED,” because it is such an easy thing for us to ‘wander’ off the path. Remember, the Lord refers to us as sheep who often go wandering.
The word “deceived” is translated from the word meaning “to wander.”
Sort of like a dog with its nose to the ground, not paying any attention to its surroundings—just following a trail.
We tend to be like that. Some juicy morsel comes along that tickles our fancy, and next thing you know, we are off wandering into something that will get us into trouble.
That happens because we are not aware of our boundaries.
As Christians, followers of the Lord Jesus, we should constantly be aware of our boundaries, which are established by the Word of God. However, we have “matured” and no longer need to be constantly in the Word. We think we ‘know’ the Word.
Any cursory observation of the Church today would reveal how far off from the mark that truly is. We have wandered off into all sorts of strange and weird things for which there is no biblical basis.
Our boundaries lack even the strength of an amoeba’s cell wall.
When the Bible has this statement of “Be not deceived,” we should straighten up and take notice. There is something important here that I should pay attention to.
Yet, when this particular warning about sowing and reaping is issued, our response is usually along the lines of, “Well, duh! Everybody knows that.”
Do they? Do YOU?
Are you constantly cognizant of your actions and thoughts? Do you seriously consider the ramifications of your actions, your speech, your thoughts?
According to these two verses,
everything you say, think or do is sowing a seed.
It is a law, a guiding principle just like the law of gravity, that should inform your life.
While most people are aware of the law of gravity, it appears that they are not quite as aware of the laws of motion. If they were, we would not see nearly as many car wrecks as we do on a daily basis.
The law of sowing and reaping as presented here in these two verses is just such a principle. However, the reaping of sowing to the flesh is not nearly as swift as the law of sowing to “me first” on the highway.
And, because the time required for the reaping is so slow, we tend to overlook this principle and sow to the expediency of the moment—not thinking about the consequences of our behavior.
As the preacher wrote in Ecclesiastes, “Because the sentence against an evil deed is not executed speedily, the heart of the children of man is fully set to do evil.” [Ecc 8:11 ESV]
While this verse speaks very plainly to the failure of our justice system, it also speaks to the issue at hand.
“Because results of our behavior do not show up immediately, we tend to do whatever we want.”
But, don’t be deceived, God is not mocked. What you sow is what you will reap.
To put it simply: are you planting for YOUR future, or the future of the Kingdom of God?
Regardless, do not be surprised at what shows up in your life, for YOU are the one who planted the seed.
Practical Bible Teaching 