Sow in Righteousness

To my daughter, 

                You recently mentioned an interest in the word karma. I am not an expert, but from what I understand it is a concept in Indian religions about action and consequences. Wikipedia says this: “The term more specifically refers to a principle of cause and effect… wherein individuals’ intent and actions (cause) influence their future (effect): Good intent and good deeds contribute to good karma and happier rebirths, while bad intent and bad deeds contribute to bad karma and bad rebirths.” In other words, there is a cause and effect to our actions, and as we do good things it will come back to us. The scriptures speak a lot of this idea. The prophet Hosea in the Old Testament wrote, “Sow to yourselves in righteousness, reap in mercy;… Ye have plowed wickedness, ye have reaped iniquity” (Hosea 10:12-13). To sow means to plant, and when we plant seeds of one kind, that is exactly what grows and what we harvest (reap). So, if we “sow righteousness”—meaning that we try to do the right thing—then we will find good things come back to us, like mercy from God. In the New Testament the apostle Paul wrote, “Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting” (Galatians 6:7-8). This has become a common phrase in the English language: you reap what you sow. In other words, the things that we do (what we figuratively “sow” or plant) will eventually lead to similar consequences. If we are kind to others, we will eventually find friends who are kind to us. If we are honest and show integrity, we will have the peace and happiness that only being true can bring. If we pray and study our scriptures, we will naturally grow closer to our Father in Heaven and His Son Jesus Christ and feel their love more abundantly for us. As my mission president used to say, it is like a stick: you can pick up one of the stick without also lifting up the other end! As we do good things, good things will come back to us. Perhaps the Savior said it best as it relates to our relationships with others in what is sometimes referred to as the golden rule: “Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so unto them: for this is the law and the prophets” (Matthew 7:12). Or, as it is commonly phrased, do unto others as you would have done unto you. This will bring you in the end the “good karma” that you seek.

                And so, you and I are left to choose the kind of life that we want by deciding what we want to sow. Today I saw an interview with someone who founded what is now a very successful dessert company with stores all over the United States. In the early stages he had a very lucrative opportunity to grow his business significantly with a deal with another company, but they required that his stores be open on Sunday. But he decided that he was going to stay true to the commandments of the Lord, and he refused the opportunity, knowing it might ruin his chances for success. Their very popular stores are indeed still closed on Sundays, and they were not hurt in the long run because of that choice. As we sow righteousness, the Lord does indeed bless us. I know that this statement of King Benjamin is true, and I hope we will both use it to guide our choices: “And moreover, I would desire that ye should consider on the blessed and happy state of those that keep the commandments of God. For behold, they are blessed in all things, both temporal and spiritual; and if they hold out faithful to the end they are received into heaven, that thereby they may dwell with God in a state of never-ending happiness. O remember, remember that these things are true; for the Lord God hath spoken it” (Mosiah 2:41). That is ultimately the karma we want: to choose to keep the commandments of God and find that “blessed and happy state”—both here and in the next life—that all the world seeks.  

Love,

Dad