Don’t be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. The one who sows to please his flesh, from the flesh will reap destruction; the one who sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life. Galatians 6:7-8
The New Testament lists at least six ways that Christian can be deceived. To be deceived is to cause to think of something that is true that is indeed untrue. One of the six NT deceptions is that we will not reap what we sow; that continued sin will have no consequences.
This is a common deception. Other teens, we think, seem to be ignoring Christ and his way of living, and yet no lightning strikes them down. More than that, they actually seem to be having fun. The cool life, it seems, is directly opposite of what God says.
But God’s word promises that this is a deception. Sin may seem pleasurable in the moment, and indeed it does carry a certain type of pleasure. But in that very action are the seeds of destruction. In fact, God compares each of these actions to planting. This verse promise that if we plant actions that are contrary to God we will harvest destruction down the road. What is difficult to understand is that, just as there is a time lag in seed planting and harvest, so there is often a time lag between our actions and the consequences of our actions.
Like a person starting to smoke cigarettes, each one seems pleasurable at the moment, but each one is carrying within it the seeds of addiction and destruction. Ask any smoker about the power of cigarettes to control and make their life worse. Look at the health issues of anyone who has smoked for many years. In every action of pleasure was the destruction.
But this devotional is not an antismoking devotional. It is antisin devotional. You may have plenty of teens around you who seem to be breaking God’s law without any consequence. And following God at this point may seem very difficult for you. But God says, “Don’t be deceived. I will not be mocked. They will harvest in the future what they are planting today. And you will harvest in the future what you are planting today. Trust me, God says, I know what is best. Sow righteousness and you will reap the reward.
