You Reap What You Sow, and Kindness is a Righteous Seed
Last week, Josh taught at our HQ Youth meeting on the topic of kindness. Josh looked at several verses with the youth group, and the one that we chose for our scripture memory challenge was Job 6:14. Job 6:14 reads, "Anyone who withholds kindness from a friend forsakes the fear of the Almighty," (NIV). It is an incredibly powerful verse because it draws attention to the value that God places on being kind to others, so much value that neglecting to be kind to our friends is equated in Job 6:14 with forsaking the very might of the Lord!
This is an important aspect of kindness to understand, but for today's devotional I'm going to focus on the other side of the coin. Whereas withholding kindness from others is identified as a major transgression against God, Scripture also clearly states that showing kindness to others will be rewarded! As 1 Peter 3:9 states, "Do not repay evil with evil or insult with insult. On the contrary, repay evil with blessing, because to this you were called so that you may inherit a blessing," (NIV). While we are ultimately saved by our faith and not by our works, it remains true that believers are called to repay even those who do evil in our lives with kindness, so that we may inherit the blessings of God.
This is also known as the basic principle of reaping what you sow.
In Galatians 6:7, Paul writes, "Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows," (NIV). Believers are called to kindness so that they might dispense some goodness and righteousness into an otherwise broken and sinful world, and are likewise promised to receive the rewards of their good work.
One last verse I want to share with you is Proverbs 11:17, which says, "Those who are kind benefit themselves, but the cruel bring ruin on themselves." Too often in this world we are taught that nice guys finish last, that only those who look after themselves can find success. Yet, the Bible tells us otherwise, that the cruel bring only ruin on themselves, while the kind will benefit from their own selfless acts. We must all remember to measure our successes not against the rules and systems of the world, but instead against the promises of our heavenly Father.
-Ryan-