As I write this our government is shut down and the people of our nation are in deep conflict. At this moment, we are harvesting a mountain of conflict, blame, fear and anger, and as a nation, we have been planting these seeds and cultivating them for a long time. Divided against ourselves, claiming only that our personal principles were important, we have naively thought that we could plant only those seeds that were important to us and that the outcome would eventually make it clear that we were right and that all would be served by our principles.
What we harvest is always directly tied to what we plant. When those who plant lose sight of who and how the harvest will serve, then the planting can become reckless. The reckless sowing of seeds can only lead to a harvest that serves no one well.
How this government shut down will come to resolution remains to be seen, but perhaps we can learn some difficult lessons from it beginning with how we see what we do today, both as individuals and communities. How do our decisions and actions today begin to be a future harvest? Who will that harvest feed? What will the food of that harvest look like? A nourishing harvest really requires thoughtful planting because, finally, everything is connected.
My grandparents knew that. The planting in the spring had to be diverse and well planned so that we could constantly eat, share, and nourish ourselves all year long with a variety of food that kept us healthy. They knew that this planting had to produce a harvest that would reach even through to the next year’s planting. Otherwise, people they cared about would go hungry. Seed planting today: who will this future harvest feed, and how, and for how long?
Bob Patrick
Did you find this devotional helpful? If so, use the share buttons below and let your friends via Facebook, Twitter and Google+ know.
Bob, thanks for today’s reflection on the government shut down viewed through the lens of harvesting what we sow. As you well know, the problem between the Republicans (dominated by the Tea Party now) and the Democrats is a political mess, and it is because of oppositional thinking. The best we can expect in such thinking is compromise in which both “sides” feel they are getting a large portion of what they want. They fight to try and insure this, even though the common good is neglected in the fight. What oppositional thinking occludes is anything that dwells outside of what me, or my party wants. This is the same dynamic as two entrenched and battling egos. Neither the parties nor the egos pay heed to realms beyond their own “wants.” In other words, love never enters into the conversation because love is about each immersed in a larger frame of “the common good.” This same commentary could be stated regarding democracy itself, if democracy is seen only about the individual atomistic self having the opportunity for participation in the decisions. In other words, the encapsulated atomism of party politics, ego opposition, and democracy viewed through individualistic lenses all obscures the larger frame within which life needs to be viewed and felt. What’s the vision beyond this? “Love Will Guide Us.” Roy