“Peacemakers who sow in peace reap a harvest of righteousness.” — James 3:18
Planting Seeds
Teams need positive energy in order to maintain harmony and produce a harvest of victory and sustained success. Negative energy is like weeds, but positive thoughts and encouraging words are like planting good seeds.
Picture a man tilling up his spot in the backyard for his garden. In the spring, he plants lots of vegetables. He waters and fertilizes them. In the fall, he grows big, green, leafy vegetables such as turnips and mustards, and those fresh vegetables are great, especially with ham hock and cornbread. Those greens give us better bones and longer lives.
This man sat down at the kitchen table in the morning and said a long prayer for all of his extended family and everybody in his community. He also enjoyed sharing his vegetables with family and friends. He didn’t let the seeds stay in the bag on the shelf. He planted seeds of kindness by telling inspiring stories about hard work and overcoming hard times. When he went to the store and he saw his friends, he planted positive seeds by sharing good words about his family.
Each day we choose whether to plant good seeds like God or weeds like the devil. The Lord is happy when we plant seeds of kindness and promote peace. “Peacemakers who sow in peace reap a harvest of righteousness” (James 3:18). God hates it when we sow seeds of discord. In the midst of conflict, we quiet things down if we control our anger. “A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger” (Proverbs 15:1).
As Christianity was getting off the ground, Jesus and the Apostles scattered the seed of God’s Word daily in hopes of bringing many people to salvation. Paul said, “I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God has been making it grow” (1 Corinthians 3:6). Jesus spoke about seeds being a picture of God’s Word planted in the garden of our heart. “But the seed falling on good soil refers to someone who hears the Word and understands it. This is the one who produces a crop, yielding a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown” (Matthew 13:23).
In light of Jesus’ example, have we planted any good seeds today?
— Bill Kent, Pastor of Memorial Baptist Church, Sylvania, Ga.
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