Wednesday, February 8, 2023

“What a person plants, he will harvest. The person who plants selfishness, ignoring the needs of others—ignoring God!—harvests a crop of weeds. All he’ll have to show for his life is weeds! But the one who plants in response to God, letting God’s Spirit do the growth work in him, harvests a crop of real life, eternal life.” (Galatians 6: 7 - 8, The Message Bible)

                I wish I had a 5-minute rewind button. Just five minutes to go back in time - is that asking too much?

                Yesterday morning,  I was backing out of our garage to go to the grocery store. I wasn’t paying as much attention as I should have been and before I knew it I was clipping the side-view mirror on the edge of the garage door frame. I panicked a little and instead of immediately stopping and going forward, I sped up a little, continuing to back up, and that stupid action totally busted the casing right off the mirror into two big pieces. Careless, thoughtless, senseless, dumb – you can stop me any time. An expensive bag of groceries, to say the least. If I could just rewind those few minutes before I got into the car, think of the grief I could have saved myself. (Thanks to the handyman's best friend - duct tape -  I have managed to re-attach the casing.)

                Or consider the Moncton landlord who recently posted to her tenants that she did not want them helping the poor or homeless. She felt that homelessness was a personal choice and there were enough beds and meal programmes to help these needy folk. Now she has had to apologize for her foolishness and ignorance. “I wish all of this didn’t happen.” If only she had a five-minute rewind button before she sent out that email to her tenants.

                You reap what you sow.

                We have all said things or done things that we regretted later.  We have opened our mouths and put our both feet into them. “Indeed, we all make many mistakes. For if we could control our tongues, we would be perfect and could also control ourselves in every other way.” (James  3:2, New Living Translation) If only we could take back those harsh, critical, blunt, hurtful words we spoke to a spouse, a child, a friend, a co-worker.  The subsequent consequences can be so costly. If only we had a five-minute rewind button. If we hurtfully unload our words constantly and consistently enough, ignoring the feelings of others, riding rough-shod over their self-esteem and self-image, we soon have a “harvest crop of weeds.”

                Unfortunately, we do not have a rewind button. What’s done is done. We can’t take it back. We can’t undo the initial damage which has been done. We have to live with it. We might wish we could eat our words, but once they are spoken, it’s too late.

                But we can and should  apologize and not let the words or actions fester any longer than is necessary. We can seek forgiveness and make amends.  Don’t try to justify, validate or explain your words or actions – rather show sincere regret and repentance.  Seek reconciliation. Yes, it may be embarrassing, awkward and uncomfortable, but it needs to be done to restore our relationships with others.

                Of course, Paul has suggested that we should try not to harvest weeds in the first place. Let God plant goodness, kindness, compassion, consideration, thoughtfulness, graciousness, love in the words and actions we speak, then we might be far less prone in doing or saying the wrong thing in the first place.

                Think before we speak or act. Consider the consequences.  What might it cost if I say this or do that?  Better yet, strive to do good right from the get-go. Make Love the guiding force of your actions and words.

                “Let every detail in your lives—words, actions, whatever—be done in the name of the Master, Jesus, thanking God the Father every step of the way.” (Colossians 3: 17, The Message)

 Dale