Question:
Dear Greg,
Is
it correct by God’s standards to sow a seed of money and expect a
harvest—either of money or something that may not be financial, such as sowing
a money seed in order to get a husband or to receive good health or to get out
of debt?
Please
help me understand Galatians 6:7.
Thanks,
Diane
Answer: Dear Diane,
It
is not biblically correct to “sow a seed” of money and expect to receive a
direct blessing from God, whether material or immaterial, on a one-to-one
correspondence based upon the “seed that is sown.”
This idea is often used by churches, ministries and pastors to motivate
people to give to the work of the church. While
the cause in most cases is for the gospel of the kingdom, the idea behind the
promotion and motivation is biblically flawed.
The
passage in Galatians 6:7 is taken out of its context and twisted (such a thing
is probably not the intent of the person doing so, of course) into something
that God, as he inspired the Apostle Paul, did not intend.
One
of the basic rules of understanding the Bible is to understand the passage in
its context. We also need to
remember that the passage had a meaning to its original audience, and we should
ensure we understand that meaning first before we attempt to apply the passage
to our lives.
First—the
context of the book of Galatians. This
book is specifically devoted to teaching against legalism—the idea that if we
do certain things, then God will or is even obligated to respond in a certain
way. Paul teaches that freedom in Christ means that we are
released from the basic principles of the world, which is the idea that God is
so impressed with our good deeds that he will give us salvation as a result.
Legalism is performance-based religion, whereas Christianity is based
solely on the finished work of Christ on the cross.
We are saved by God’s grace, not by what we do.
Christ did for us what we can never do for ourselves.
With
that brief summary, which does not do justice to this powerful book of
Galatians, we come to chapter six. Paul
begins by talking about doing so, bearing each other’s sins.
In the verse immediately prior to the verse about which you ask, Paul
tells us to “share good things” with our spiritual instructors and then he
says, in verse seven, “Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked.
A man reaps what he sows.”
Paul
is addressing a practical matter, but one that has spiritual implications.
At the beginning of the chapter we are told to take care of one another
and to help those who have burdens. Then
he says that we should also take care of those who give us spiritual
instruction, and that we will reap what we sow.
It is in the context of caring for others’ needs that we are told that
we will reap what we sow—not the idea that if we sow a financial seed it is
like a spiritual investment in the heavenly stock market.
It is not saying that God will make sure that our “investment” will
pay dividends for us, giving us more money back, better health, happier
marriages, etc., etc. This is not
at all what this passage is teaching.
This
passage is teaching that our giving and sharing and our financial support for
those who give us and others spiritual instruction is an investment—both for
now and for eternity. When we give
of those resources God has blessed us with, we are laying up treasures in heaven
(Matthew 6:20). We are making
deposits into God’s kingdom of heaven and to his work being done on this
earth, where help and healing is available to those who are spiritually sick, in
spiritual bondage and prison. We invest into God’s kingdom and to his work so that new
life—the new life in Christ—can be given to those who are weak, lost and
broken.
It
is in that context we will reap what we sow.
We will help others who desperately need it—not that we will in some
way help ourselves. Our motive in giving should be to help others, to bear the
burdens of others—not some investment scheme that will, in the long run, give
us physical benefits.
In
Christ,
Greg
Albrecht