Strategies of God

Chapter 1

We Reap what we sow

“Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a person sows, this he/she will also reap.” ..And let us not lose heart in doing good, for in due time we shall reap if we do not grow weary. So then, while we have opportunity, let us do good to all people and especially to those who are of the household of faith.” (Galatians 6:7 and 9-10, NAS translation)

There are many contributors to one’s level of achievement in working with others. They include the resources that we have to work with, our level of expertise and experience, the sufficiency of time available to complete the work and so on but nothing is more important than our ability to work well in, and get the most out of our relationships with others. In this context, the principle of reaping what we sow is among the most important for us to understand and apply. The cited biblical passage has several key messages:

1. What a person receives or gets back is dependent on what he or she gives or puts out

2. There can be a time lag between sowing and reaping

3. We must take every opportunity to act positively toward all people

Although the second and third messages will be addressed briefly, my main focus in this chapter is on the first message. If it is true that we reap what we sow, it follows that we can change what we are getting back by changing what we do. This view is reminiscent of the concept of locus of control (LOC). LOC, which has been heavily researched, divides people into two categories, internal controls and external controls. Internals tend to believe that what happens to them in life depends on what they do while externals believe that life events and experiences depend more on factors outside of their control. The principle that we reap what we sow is consistent with the outlook of people with an internal LOC. In some ways an internal LOC should lead to better psychological health. People with a strong external LOC could well be susceptible to viewing themselves as victims and to avoidance of personal responsibility. However, I do not mean to deny that there are real and significant influences on our life experiences which we do not control. Moreover, the events and outcomes in our world are not always fair. Nevertheless, in general, I believe that indeed, people tend to have what they give returned back to them. I also believe that even in cases where this does not occur or does not appear to be happening, it is still best to have the internal LOC mindset. As suggested before, this perspective is empowering because it gives us a clear strategy for changing the treatment and response that we get from people that we work with.

What Am I Sowing?

In order to implement the strategy for personal effectiveness implied in the spiritual principle of sowing and reaping, we must identify what specifically to “sow” or give out. The analogy of sowing as in planting seeds is helpful here. Just as with planting specific seeds to grow specific kinds of plants, what we demonstrate to other people in communication and behavior is based specifically on what we want to receive back from them. To illustrate here are some ideas for planting.

Grace

Grace is a term that is often used but means different things to different people. Here it is taken to mean showing patience and tolerance for the mistakes and shortcomings of others. It also means consistently using respectful communications even when correcting people, giving negative feedback or speaking to people with whom we disagree. To sow grace does not mean that patience and tolerance for mistakes is unlimited. At some point wrong or unproductive behavior has to be addressed and people must be held accountable. However the gracious person does not react to every flaw or misstep by his/her peers or subordinates. A willingness to tolerate a reasonable number of mistakes is important to allow people freedom to take risks, which is in turn necessary for creativity and innovation. For example, in their classic work on learning organizations, Peter Senge and colleagues include the following among their nine critical characteristics of a true learning organization:

“People feel free to try experiments, take risks and openly assess the results. No one is killed for making a mistake.”

As their work indicates, a key component of organizational effectiveness is the ability to release human potential by avoiding a fear of making mistakes and to use mistakes as vehicles for learning. A stiff intolerance of mistakes retards learning and the development of problem solving ability.

Work groups develop a clear culture on the degree of tolerance for mistakes and there is a great deal of variation in this as the data in Table 1 below indicate.

Table 1: Data on Tolerance for Mistakes: % of Responding Organization Members Saying The Culture Had a Tolerance for Mistakes Range 24 to 79 Average 56 Number of organizations 32

The data in Table 1 indicate that the percentage of members who experienced the culture as having a tolerance for mistakes varied 24 percent to a high of 79 percent. Notice that it is customary for nearly half of the people in an organization to experience it as intolerant of mistakes.