Throw It Out There!

“In the morning sow thy seed, and in the evening withhold not thine hand: for thou knowest not whether shall prosper, either this or that, or whether they both [shall be] alike good.” (Ec 11:6 AV)

Sometimes we over think things.  We try to be efficient, but in the long run, we lose opportunities.  We try to be good stewards, but in the end, returns are far less.  In a nutshell, Solomon is speaking about diversifying.  Stop over thinking the best time to sow the seed.  Stop trying to over plan a plan.  Stop thinking one way is better than the next by mere minutia.  Throw that seed in the morning.  Throw that seed in the evening.  Sow to yourselves righteousness every opportunity you get without regard for the most efficient and beneficial way.  There is such a thing as acceptable loss.  As the seed is sow, some, if not most, will not germinate into a fruit producing plant.  At least that was how it worked in the old days.  Today, with machinery and such, pretty much most of the seed produces crops.  In the old day, the farmer would cast their seed in the field.  There would be a considerable portion that birds would eat, fall on dry ground, wash away in a storm, or any number of unfavorable circumstances that hindered growth.  There is wisdom in industry.  Solomon is not saying we fling it on a wall to see what sticks.  Calculated risks exist.  But they are still risks.

I go door knocking two days a week.  We meet a lot of people.  Fortunately, we live in an area of the country that is polite and inviting.  Most are not interested, but if you phrase it right, they will take a gospel tract.  We know the vast majority of tracts will never be opened and read.  We know the vast majority of them might end up in the trash.  As the door closes, eyes roll back and the tracts are tossed aside.  If we look at the waste, we may cease to give them out.  We may phrase the offer as, “If I give you this tract, will you read it?”  We sure would save a lot of money that way.  Efficiency is not the point here.  When it concerns the gospel, it never is.  We are tasked to get the gospel out into the public, whether they think they want it or not.  Our job is to inform those who know not the LORD there is a way to know Him.  Sometimes, opportunity is what we make it.  Most of the time, we do not wait until someone knocks on our door or comes into the church seeking salvation.  Opportunity is often what we generate.  Not what is offered.

The point to Solomon’s observations is time and chance are wasted waiting for the perfect set of circumstances before we are willing to act.  Sometimes we overthink a plan before we are willing to take action.  We think too pragmatically!  Even in business, you try different things and watch the results.  When I managed a restaurant, we tweaked the menu or ingredients from time to time.  We added or subtracted a menu item.  Or, we changed up the ingredients to a different supplier.  We offered different types of coupons.  We changed it up.  We tried this and that.  Sometimes, we hit a winner.  Most of the time, we did not.  But you never know what will work and what will not unless you try it.  This is Solomon’s point.  We can only prognosticate so much.  Sowing in the winter will never work.  Sowing after the rainy season isn’t smart.  We know what is destined to fail.  What we do not know is what might work.  The point is to be industrious as much as prudent.  There is a balance here.  Get busy for God and stop overthinking the plan.  We can overthink the plan so much that we never do a thing.  Throw the seed out there!  You never know!