The Bible says in 2 Corinthians 9:6-7, “Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously. Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver” (NIV).

This can work either positively or negatively in your life. If you’re planting seeds of kindness, you know what? People are going to be kind to you. If you forgive others, they are going to be forgiving of you. If you’re generous, people are going to be generous with you.

But if you are angry all the time, people are going to respond in anger. If you cheat other people, people are going to cheat you. If you gossip about other people, guess what? People are going to gossip about you.

The law of reproduction says you reap what you sow, but the principle of multiplication says you will also always reap more than you sow.

When you put one kernel of corn in the ground, you don’t get one kernel of corn back. You get a cornstalk with multiple ears on it and hundreds of kernels on each of those ears. This is the exponential power that God has established the universe to handle. You always get more out of it than you put into it.

It’s why I never, ever attack my attackers. Why? I don’t want to get caught in the chain. No matter what anybody says to me, I don’t want to say anything bad back to them because if I do, I’m going to reap more than I sowed. What I choose to do is the exact opposite. I want to bless them. I want to pray for them. Why? Because that’s what I want to receive, and I always reap more than I sow.

Proverbs 11:24 says, “The world of the generous gets larger and larger; the world of the stingy gets smaller and smaller” (The Message).

Fruit ripens slowly. Would you rather eat a vine-ripened tomato or one that has been picked green and then gassed to turn it red? There’s no comparison between a vine-ripened tomato, which was allowed to grow slowly, and a tomato that was picked prematurely. If you pick too soon, you miss the flavor.

In money management, you always reap in a different season than you sow. And by the way, not all fruit ripens at the same time. When you grow peaches, they’re not all ripe at once. They come in little by little; you pick a few a day. When you start planting and following God’s money management principles, you’re not going to get a windfall tomorrow. It’s going to come in over time. You’re going to have to wait to reap in a different season.

But while you’re waiting, God is working. When you’re waiting for the fulfillment of the efforts or money or energy that you’ve put into something, you may think nothing’s happening.

Oh, it’s happening! While that seed is hidden in the ground, it is slowly germinating. And when that seed bursts with God’s blessing on it, it will continue growing and growing. One day a little shoot will stick up out of the ground, and then you will see that it’s working.

But until then, you need to trust that God is working — even when you can’t see the fruit of your labor.

Plants take time to grow. There’s no such thing as instant maturity. No farmer goes out, plants the seed in the ground, comes back an hour later, digs it up, and expects it to have grown. You’ve just got to let it be. Leave it covered, and let God grow it in his time.

Galatians 6:9 says, “Let’s not get tired of doing what is good. At just the right time we will reap a harvest of blessing if we don’t give up” (NLT).

Everything in life starts as a seed: a relationship, a marriage, a business, a church. And nothing happens until the seed is planted.

Why does God require us to plant a seed? Because planting is an act of faith. You take what you’ve got, and you give it away. That takes an act of faith! And it brings glory to God.

Jesus described this principle of sowing and reaping when he was trying to explain why he came to Earth to die on the cross. In John 12:24 Jesus said, “Unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds” (NIV). Jesus was saying, “People will be saved and go to heaven because of my death and Resurrection. I’m going to plant a seed, and the seed is going to be my life.”

Here’s the principle of sowing and reaping: Whenever you have a need, you plant a seed. Whatever it is you need — more time, more energy, more money, more support, more relationships, more wisdom — just plant a seed. If you need more time, give more time to your kids. If you need more money, give it away to someone who needs it. If you need more wisdom, share what wisdom you have with others. Give yourself away!

It may not make sense to you to give away something that you need more of, but that is exactly the kind of attitude that God wants to bless and that will produce fruit in your life. When you have a need, don’t gripe about it, don’t wish about it, and you don’t even have to pray about it — just plant a seed!