No, we are not speaking of the foolish virgins. Those were mostly careless, supposing they could succeed on the Christian journey without the Holy Spirit. It is almost impossible to live godly without Him in your life. However, in this post, we speak of Christians who keep sowing without reaping, year after year. They are very foolish and this post is here to tell you “don’t be one of the foolish Christians.”
The God we claim to follow did not send Jesus to us for a harvest, although that can happen. He sent Jesus to die for us because He loved the world so much. So, if you want a reason to give to the work of God, give because of love. The Apostle Paul recognized that and said so. Though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor but have not love, it profits me nothing. Even if I give my body to be burned but have not love, it amounts to nothing.
I wonder how much of our giving amounts to nothing before God. Could that be the reason the money “farmers” among us remain poor? They sow and sow until they run out of seed to sow. And yet there is no harvest. It amounts to nothing before God so He does not send a reward.
If you are a religious money farmer, please stop. Don’t be one of the foolish Christians. Jesus Himself demonstrated this. If you have sown into a ministry for three years without a harvest, stop! Don’t continue to be foolish. Jesus wanted to cut down the tree after three years of no harvest. You know the story.
Love Is The Real Reason To Give
For the mature Christian who is enjoying the love of God, love, not sowing, is the reason to give. Sowing seed is simply a trick to take your money without giving you any result. Pastors know you cannot buy God’s love but they need your money. So, they ask you to sow into this and that. Please don’t be one of the foolish Christians who sow without harvesting.
Now, you have to be on your spiritual toes, so to speak because those pastors are very persuasive. Before you have a chance to think of what happened to last year’s seed, you have sown again. The other day, I was listening to a man of God preach about overflowing blessings. Naturally, he read from the twenty-eighth chapter of the book of Deuteronomy.
And when he started to preach, he gave a couple of examples of mostly widows who gave to men of God. They subsequently went from zero to full. And then, returning to the text, he told his congregation there were three conditions for overflowing blessings. He said the first condition was sowing. What? That was not even pretending to come from the text in question.
He probably knew they were not mature Christians. They could be blown away by every wind of doctrine. Let us consider the text from which he was teaching. Please pay close attention because we do not criticize others lightly. But we need you to know something: don’t be one of the foolish Christians who continually sow without reaping.
Don’t Be One Of The Foolish Christians Without A Harvest
Deuteronomy 28:1-2 says, “Now it shall come to pass, if you diligently obey the voice of the Lord your God. To observe carefully all His commandments which I command you today. That the Lord your God will set you high above all nations of the earth. And all these blessings shall come upon you and overtake you. Because you obey the voice of the Lord your God.
Don’t you just love God? He probably knew that some preachers would try to bend the truth. So, what does He do? He repeats the condition for receiving overflowing or overtaking blessings. What do you see in the passage above? “If” is always a conditional word. for example, if you do well in your exam, you will move to the next class. If you eat your vegetables, you will be healthy and so on.
Here is what I see in the passage. “If you diligently obey the voice of the Lord your God. So I should say that the first condition to receiving this type of overwhelming blessings is diligent obedience. Now, that implies that there is obedience that is not diligent. But the diligent obedience will result in overflowing blessings.
I don’t see anything there about sowing and reaping, do you? Please remember we are not interested in criticizing. Our main interest is don’t be one of the foolish Christians. You already know what a foolish Christian does, so we don’t have to repeat it.
Just ensure that you are not playing the lottery with God by sowing only to expect a harvest. Would it not be easier to simply imitate God and give out of love? That is when rewards abound, when you are like God. Try it today.
There is a middle point for the Baby Christian
You can call your giving a tithe if you are still operating under the law. You know that the law is our tutor until we come to maturity. The bible says so in Galatians 3.24. So, if you are still immature, you can give according to the law. But the one who is enjoying the fullness of God’s love gives according to love.
Guess what? When you give out of love, you give more than when you do it according to the law. You appreciate the depth of gratitude you owe God for giving us Jesus Christ. So here is the bottom line. Of the three reasons you give to the work of God, sowing is the worst. We appeal to you by the mercies of God, don’t be one of the foolish Christians. You must determine not to play lottery in church.
The best reason to give is from a standpoint of love, just like our God. But not all Christians are mature enough. They remain under a tutor – the law. Until you reach that maturity, function under the law – don’t joke with your tithe. As you do that, God will see your heart and move you to the love of Jesus. Then when you give, God rewards you from the standpoint of love. Don’t be one of the foolish Christians who sow without reaping.
Maranatha!
