(Proverbs 20:4 ESV) The sluggard does not plow in the autumn; he will seek a harvest and have nothing.
The title is a reference to an episode of the Jerry Seinfeld show where the audience is introduced to a character named the Soup Nazi. Customers who wanted to eat his soup were required to speak, act, and approach in a pre-determined manner if they were to receive a cup of the much sought after soup. But, if they did not approach properly they were rebuffed with a matter-of-fact, “No soup for you!”
Having grown up in a farming community, I’m fully aware of the intentionality of producing a harvest. don’t just magically appear in the field. Much planning and physical labor is required.
We live in a society that is mostly blind to the production of our daily consumables. It is easy to go to the different big box stores and purchase whatever we need without a second thought about where it came from.
Scripture is clear about the growth process. Harvest is always associated with planting seed. No seed=No harvest.
When addressing the church at Galatia, Paul writes, “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.” (Galatians 6:7-8 ESV)
Farmers get to choose the seed they plant, which determines the harvest received. Likewise, we have the right and responsibility to plant the seed that produces a godly harvest in our lives.
It has been said, “There are no gaurantees.” But, the writer of Proverbs makes it very clear that those who do not sow in autumn will seek a harvest that does not exist in summer!
PRAYER: Father, I realize that what I do IS the seed that I sow. Help me to know what to sow, and when to sow it so that a plentiful harvest will be ready in the proper season. Amen.