Sow & Reap

But this I say, He which soweth sparingly shall reap also sparingly; and he which soweth bountifully shall reap also bountifully. (2 Corinthians 9:6 KJV)

This is a very powerful scripture to me and can be seen as a roadmap to living life successfully, or not so successfully. 

Where are you in your life? In your marriage, family, spiritual development, education, career, etc. It is a direct reflection of where and how you have sown your seeds. 

Are you just getting by or are you reaping bountifully?  It is a direct reflection of where and how you have sown your seeds. 

Examine yourself and know where your priorities lie. What is most important to you?  Sow your seeds in those areas and if you sow them bountifully, you will reap bountifully. 

Be careful, however, of sowing seeds in areas that are not positive. Bad seeds bear bad fruit. Those bad fruit will grow up and choke those good fruit that are most important, just like weeds choke good crops. You must pull those weeds out, so they do not sneak up and destroy the crops that you really want and need. 

I did a little research on weeds and found the following:

No matter what definition is used, weeds are plants whose undesirable qualities outweigh their good points, according to man. Our human activities create weed problems since no plant is a "weed" in nature. Though we may try to manipulate nature for our own good, nature is persistent. Through the manipulation process, certain weeds are controlled, while, other more serious weeds may thrive because favorable growing conditions for them also have been meet. Weeds are naturally strong competitors and those weeds that can best compete always tend to dominate.

Weeds are troublesome in many ways. Primarily, they reduce crop yield by competing for water, light, soil nutrients, and space. Other problems associated with weeds in agriculture include:

a) reduced crop quality by contaminating the commodity;
b) interference with harvest;
c) serve as hosts for crop diseases or provide shelter for insects to
overwinter;
d) limit the choice of crop rotation sequences and cultural
practices; and
e) production of chemical substances which are toxic to crop plants
(allelopathy), animals, or humans.

It's funny because I also read a text that mentioned the benefit of weeds. Getting rid of weeds takes a lot of effort and work. You have to get out there in the sun and literally rip them from the ground. What a backache! Limiting the amount of weeds also takes a lot of effort and work. It requires you to be selective and making sure that you only sow clean seeds. In some crops, weeds can often help to shield those crops from the blowing wind. However, in the end, if you allow the weeds to stay long enough, they may protect you from the winds in the short-term, but they will eventually do what weeds do. Decrease your crop and lessen, if not destroy, your harvest.