In Galatians 6:7-8, we find where the great Apostle Paul articulates an irrevocable law that reverberates throughout the entirety of the Bible, and for that matter, the entirety of creation. It is the law of sowing and reaping. He said, “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.” It is a truth you can take to the bank. We reap what we sow!
Albert Einstein articulated a slightly different view or explanation of this law when he defined insanity. He said, “Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.” In other words, he goes right back to what Paul said. He says we’re insane if we think we will reap differently than what we sow. May I lovingly say that I stand amazed at the degree to which this insanity has permeated every aspect of society?
In a sermon, I “Aaronize” Einstein’s definition of insanity. I say it like this, “If you always do what you’ve always done, you’ll always get what you’ve always got!” I then use an illustration about baking cookies. I state that a friend and I both love chocolate chip cookies. So, I invite him over to cook chocolate chip cookies. We gather all the ingredients: milk, flour, eggs, chocolate chips, etc. We follow the recipe to the letter. We preheat the oven to the correct temperature. We place the cookies in the oven and set the timer for the proper time. When the timer dings, we remove a perfect batch of chocolate chip cookies and chow down! They are so good, we decided we wanted more. So, we repeat the process exactly as we did for the first batch. Again, a perfect batch of cookies is the reward for our labor. However, we decided we wanted some more cookies. This time, we want peanut butter cookies. So, we used the same ingredients and recipe we used for the chocolate chip cookies. We place them in the oven and set the timer. When the timer dings, in great anticipation, we remove the cookies from the oven. However, we find ourselves staring at each other in disbelief. We expected peanut butter cookies but got chocolate chip. We can get angry and blame each other, blame the oven, and even claim some of the ingredients we used were defective. However, here is the truth: We did not change the recipe!
aaron mccollough
Herein is Einstein’s definition of insanity exemplified. My friend and I did the same thing over and over again and expected different results. Guess what – it wasn’t gonna happen, and it will never happen! We reap what we sow. And you can take that to the bank!
I am amazed at the number of people I have encountered during my almost fifty years of pastoral ministry who don’t understand this concept. It completely eludes them. Pastors are pastoring churches that are dying a slow, agonizing death; deacons are deaking in these same churches; teachers are teaching in these churches; singers are singing in these churches, and some people are sitting in the pews of these churches who have been attending their whole life. Sadly, each believes that if they keep doing what they’ve always done, perhaps with a little more fervor, then somehow, magically, the outcome will change. Guess what. It ain’t gonna happen. Again, if we want something different, we must change the recipe! We reap what we sow.
Not only does the truth I’ve stated apply to churches, it applies to all of society. Society today is filled with all sorts of perversion, a lack of discipline, morality, accountability, a breakdown of the family unit, honesty, and a lack of brotherly love. But here’s the truth: If we want a different cookie, we must change the recipe!
I close with this: Think what you will about President Trump. I’m neither accusing nor defending him. What you think of him is your business. However, whether we like him or not, the cold, hard reality is that he wants a different cookie! So, unbelievably, he’s changing the recipe! Wow! What a lesson there is here for us to learn. Change the recipe! If you always do what you’ve always done …
Brother Aaron