“WHAT GOES AROUND COMES AROUND”
Ever heard that statement? It is expressed in different forms: “The status eventually returns to its original value after completing some sort of cycle; A person’s actions, whether good or bad, will often have consequences for that person; Come full circle; Reap what one sows; Sow the wind, reap the whirlwind.” There are biblical precedents for these statements as well as an example. When Judah pursued the Canaanites and Perizzites and slew ten thousand of them (Judges 1) Adoni-bezek fled. When they caught him they cut off his thumbs and his great toes (Judges 1:6); “And Adoni-bezek said, Threescore and ten kings, having their thumbs and their great toes cut off, gathered their food under my table: as I have done, so God hath requited me. And they brought him to Jerusalem, and he died there” (Judges 1:7). “The loss of one’s thumbs would prevent his use of any weapons of war, and the loss of his big toes would make flight impossible” (Coffman Commentary). When you read the rest of this chapter you find that the Children of Israel did not follow God’s command (Judges 2:1) in driving out the inhabitance of the land and suffered the consequences of not doing so.
A failure to get rid of sin has dire consequences. If elders do not discipline the flock the lo-cal church will suffer. If parents do not discipline their children they will pay a heavy cost down the line. If individuals continue in sin, they will suffer the effects of it.
If what goes around comes around, then we should consider our actions. Here is where we should start.
One, start with kindness. “And be ye kind one to another, tender-hearted, forgiving each other, even as God also in Christ forgave you” (Eph. 4:32). Speaking kindly to our mates, co-workers, children, we are laying the ground work for a reciprocal reaction. We live in a fast paced, hustle and bustle world that generates impatience and thus a lack of kindness.
Two, start with forgiveness. Remember Jesus, in his model prayer, said, “And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors” (Mt. 6:12). Someone said or done something to us and we just can’t let go. My forgiveness is based on my willingness to forgive others.
Three, start with generosity. Paul wrote, “But this I say, He that soweth sparingly shall reap also sparingly; and he that soweth bountifully shall reap also bountifully (2 Cor. 9:6). Have you ever noticed that the most generous people always have something to give? Stingy people never have anything to give.
Four, start with a smile. You smile at others, they smile back. “A smile cost nothing, but it gives much, it enriches them who receive, without making poorer those who give….”
What do you have coming around?
Larry