Have you ever thought about why this verse begins with “Do not be deceived”? Maybe it’s because it’s easy to think we are getting away with our sin, because the consequences, the reaping does not come immediately. It’s like a credit card. You get what you want to get, do what you want to do, and then there’s a time lag. Because the consequences don’t happen immediately – you say, “Hey, I got away with it.” Well that’s credit card follies. The passing of time until the consequences come will not lessen the price tag you pay for that sin; in fact, it will make it cost you more.

The farmer doesn’t see immediate results from sowing seed, whether he sows corn or poison ivy. But it will come up. With the farmer there is a lag between planting the seed and reaping the harvest. Doing what’s right and what’s wrong have this in common. When you’re doing it, whether what you are doing is right or wrong, you can’t see where that choice is going to lead and all the ramifications of your decision, not only on your life but also on others.

For example, when you have a sexual relationship before marriage, you can’t see the pain and the loss that it will cause in your marriage, but it will. When you build a pattern of lying, you might get away with the lies; you can’t see right now how it is going to hurt your reputation and destroy the trust of the person you lied to, but it will. When you extend a loving hand to someone who’s been your enemy, you can’t see the healing and the blessing that will come from that, but it will. When you forgive someone and release them from the debt that they have with you because they hurt you, the blessing from that may not come immediately, but it will.

Since we can’t see where choices lead until it’s too late, do we just live by the throw of the dice? Well, that’s where the Bible comes in. It tells us where our decisions lead. When you sow to your sinful nature, it will destroy things. It’s gonna happen! When you sow to things that please the Holy Spirit, you’re going to reap things that will last forever. It’s gonna happen!

God’s Word has never been wrong. Oh, some people have thought that they’ve cheated the consequences because they didn’t happen immediately. We need to remember, the credit card charges and a farmer’s crops never come immediately, but they always come.

Save yourself a lot of heartache. Believe what God says is going to happen…good or bad. Don’t deceive yourself by thinking you’ll get away with your sin, or that right choices won’t come back to you with interest. “This day I call the heavens and the earth as witnesses against you that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life, so that you and your children may live and that you may love the Lord your God, listen to his voice, and hold fast to him. ” (Deuteronomy 30:19-20a NIV).

If you’re sowing sin, God’s bill is in the mail. If you’re sowing right living, God’s check, which is His favor and blessings, is in the mail. “And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up.” (Galations 6:9).

IF WE CHOOSE TO SIN WE CHOOSE TO SUFFER! This also includes not doing the right thing. “So whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin.” (James 4:17)

Pray this – My Precious Heavenly Father, I want to always choose what is right but I do not always do that. Thank You for the forgiveness that I have for my sins because of my Savior, Jesus Christ. I want to sow seeds of righteousness, peace, patience, forgiveness, love, kindness, gentleness, humility and self control so that I produce fruit that pleases You. I know that I can only do that through the power of Jesus and with the help of the Holy Spirit. Jesus said, “But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you.” (John 14:26). I choose life not death, blessings nor curses. I choose to obey You, Father, and hold fast to You. Give me the wisdom to always remember, if I choose to sin I choose to suffer. In Jesus’ Name, I pray, Amen