What Goes Around Comes Around
Text: Luke 6:37-42
Theme: What we get out of life depends upon what we put into it.
The lesson is clear: Whatever we sow, we will eventually reap. What goes around comes around.
Here’s a thought: D.L. Moody concluded, “I’ve had more trouble with D.L. Moody than any man alive.”
A rich baker sent for 20 of the poorest children in town and explained, “In this basket is a loaf of bread for each of you. Take one and come back every day, and I’ll give you more.”
Immediately the youngsters began quarrelling about who would get the biggest loaf. Snatching from the basket, they left without even thanking the baker.
Gretchen, a poorly dressed little girl, patiently waited until the others had left. She took the smallest loaf, which remained in the basket, kissed the old man’s hand, and went home. The next day the scene was repeated. But when Gretchen’s mother sliced this loaf, she found many shiny silver pieces inside.
When Gretchen took the money back to the baker, he said, “No, my child, it was not a mistake. I put them into the smallest loaf to reward you.”
About 2,000 years ago, Jesus Christ spoke of a timeless principle: what goes around comes around. We read of this in the Gospel of Luke 6:37-42:
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. 39 He also told them this parable: Can a blind man lead a blind man? Will they not both fall into a pit? 40 A student is not above his teacher, but everyone who is fully trained will be like his teacher. 41 Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? 42 How can you say to your brother, “Brother, let me take the speck out of your eye,” when you yourself fail to see the plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye. NIV
Our harvest depends upon what we sow by our:
Contribution (Luke 6:37-38)
If the Golden Rule means anything, it means acting mercifully, just as the Father has acted mercifully toward us. With this as the background, Jesus turned to an all-too-prevalent sin among the Jews of His day - judging others. The Pharisees, who came into being to purify the Jewish faith, fell readily into this fault. Their basic approach toward life prepared them to become faultfinding judges of others, lacking in compassion and often hypocritical.
Jesus was not condemning moral discernment. Every day we are called upon to judge whether an action is right or wrong. Almost every decision we make has ethical implications. There is no way we can avoid making these decisions.
The Apostle Paul reminds us that there is a need for correction amongst Christians in Galatians 6:1:
Brothers, if someone is caught in a sin, you who are spiritual should restore him gently. But watch yourself, or you also may be tempted. NIV
Jesus gave an excellent reason to avoid critical faultfinding. The standards by which we judge, others will judge us. Jesus’ statement also implied that behind whatever judgment we make stands the judgment of God. As we judge others, so He will judge us.
Just as we are to be generous in our judging, we are to be generous in our business dealings. We are to give full measure, and it will eventually be returned to us “pressed down, shaken together, and running over.” We probably wouldn’t want to take this too literally if we happened to be giving strawberries or ripe tomatoes. The point is that how we treat others will determine how others will tend to treat us.
After a five-day blizzard, a helicopter carried a Red Cross rescue team to a mountain cabin nearly covered with snowdrifts. One rescuer stepped in after knocking on the door and announced, “We’re from the Red Cross.”
“Well,” replied the mountaineer while scratching his head, “it’s been a tough winter, and I don’t see how we can give anything this year.”
I believe that Jesus was describing not just what the Father doles out to us in proportion to what we dole out to others, but that He was talking about the principle of sowing and reaping and how it applies to relationships with others. “Reaping what you sow” applies not only to our vertical relationship with God but to our horizontal relationships with people! Have you ever wondered why some people are so well respected? Why are they trusted so much by others? Why do they have so many friends and people willing to go the extra mile to help them? Chances are, these people have already been giving the same to others.
What are your contributions to others? Are they marked by:
• Encouragement or criticism?
• Forgiveness or bitterness?
• Giving or taking?
Our harvest depends upon what we sow by our:
Contribution
Illustration (Luke 6:39-40)
At this point in His sermon, Jesus seemed to single out the Pharisees, who glaringly failed to live up to the principles He had just set forth. They were blind guides who would fall into a pit, causing their followers to fall behind them. Since the Pharisees and scribes were guilty of making faultfinding judgments, their followers would do the same unless they found better guidance.
People do what people see. Paul reveals his understanding of this in Philippians 3:17, “Join with others in following my example, brothers, and take note of those who live according to the pattern we gave you.” NIV
As you follow Jesus Christ and wish to share Him with others, our houses must be on their way to order. I am not saying that we have to be perfect and flawless, but Jesus calls us to be people of integrity. Our lives are probably the only Bible that many people will read. The nation of Israel had fallen into disarray spiritually, morally, politically and economically because of the lack of leadership. There were spiritually blind people groping about for leadership 2,000 years ago. A generation of people is doing just that here in Canada!
There is something I have learned about mentoring: you can impress people from a distance; you make an impact on them up close. I could name men and women that have mentored me. The ones who have impacted me the most are the ones that have let me into their lives.
Leadership begins in our hearts. The choices, priorities and values that we hold dear will shape us for good, the bad and the ugly.
This leadership extends to our families. Men and women must walk in the light of the Holy Spirit and the Word of God if our families are to prosper.
This leadership influences our churches and communities. Having a bad hair day, waking up on the wrong side of the bed, or being moody are lame excuses for how poorly we obey God and treat people.
German theologian Albert Schweitzer advised, “The three most important ways to lead people are: ... by example ... by example ... by example.”
What does our illustration of Christ look like to those around us?
• Are you growing in your faith and as a person?
• Are people following you and your example, or are they avoiding you?
• What is the fruit of those you are influencing - are they living with integrity and godliness?
Our harvest depends upon what we sow by our:
Contribution
Illustration
Concentration (Luke 6:41-42)
Jesus occasionally sprinkled some humour into His messages. The audience must have chuckled when Jesus depicted a man with a plank sticking out of his eye trying to help another remove a speck from his eye. Such blatant hypocrisy is laughable. The trouble is that such hypocrisy is not always so blatant and not so comical in real life.
Romans 14:4-5, 12-13 elaborates on this idea:
4 Who are you to judge someone else’s servant? To his own master he stands or falls. And he will stand, for the Lord is able to make him stand. 5 One man considers one day more sacred than another; another man considers every day alike. Each one should be fully convinced in his own mind. 12 So then, each of us will give an account of himself to God. 13 Therefore let us stop passing judgment on one another. Instead, make up your mind not to put any stumbling block or obstacle in your brother’s way. NIV
A reporter once asked the great evangelist D.L. Moody which people gave him the most trouble. He answered immediately, “I’ve had more trouble with D.L. Moody than any man alive.” The late Samuel Hoffenstein said, “Wherever I go, I go too, and spoil everything.” And there is the classic Jack Paar line, “Looking back, my life seems to be one long obstacle course, with me as the chief obstacle.”
Most of us can relate to the sign that hangs in an office:
If you could kick the person responsible for most of your troubles, you wouldn’t be able to sit down for weeks.
Computers have advanced far beyond man’s imagination, even becoming like people. They not only talk to each other now, but the latest reports reveal that they have started blaming their mistakes on each other.
The first step in personal growth and godliness is taking responsibility for our choices. A psychologist visited a prison and asked various inmates, “Why are you here?” The answers were very revealing, even though expected. There were many of them: “I was framed”; “They ganged up on me”; “It was a case of mistaken identity”; “It was not me - it was somebody else.” The psychologist wondered if one could find a larger group of “innocent” people outside of prison!
Consider these steps toward personal responsibility:
· Be responsible for who you are.
· Be responsible for what you can do.
· Be responsible for what you have received.
· Accept accountability.
What you are going to be tomorrow, you are becoming today. It is essential to begin developing concentration and self-discipline in a small way today to be disciplined in a big way tomorrow.
In “Developing the Leader Within You,” John Maxwell presents this plan for concentrating on your growth and discipline:
1. List five areas in your life that lack discipline.
2. Place them in order of your priority for conquering them.
3. Take them on, one at a time.
4. Secure resources, such as books and recordings that will give you instruction and motivation to conquer each area.
5. Ask a person who models the trait you want to possess to hold you accountable for it.
6. Spend fifteen minutes each morning getting focused to get control of this weak area in your life.
7. Do a five-minute check-up on yourself at midday.
8. Take five minutes in the evening to evaluate your progress.
9. Allow sixty days to work on one area before going to the next.
10. Celebrate with the one who holds you accountable as you show continued success.
Charles Swindoll concluded, “Life is 10% what happens to you and 90% how you react to it.” How is your concentration?
• Do you say, “He makes me so mad” or “She makes me so happy”?
• Do you often compare yourself with others?
• Do you have a personal strategy for being all you can be in fulfilling God’s direction for your life?
A tenant farmer had worked hard for many years to improve the production of the land. Then something happened that caused him to become very bitter. When it was time to renew his lease, the owner told him he would sell the farm to his son, who was getting married. The tenant made several generous offers to buy it himself, hoping the man would change his mind, but he did not. As the day drew near for the farmer to vacate his home, his weeks of angry brooding finally got the best of him. He gathered seeds from some of the peskiest and most noxious weeds he could find. Then he spent many hours scattering them on the clean, fertile soil of the farm, along with a lot of trash and stones he had collected.
To his dismay, the very next morning, the owner informed him that plans for his son’s wedding had fallen through, and therefore he would be happy to renew the lease. He couldn’t understand why the farmer exclaimed in agonizing tones, “Oh, Lord, what a fool I’ve been!”
The lesson is clear: Whatever we sow, we will eventually reap. What goes around comes around.
Our harvest depends upon what we sow by our:
Contribution
Illustration
Concentration
What we get out of life depends upon what we put into it.