THE SIN OF PLOWING

An high look, and a proud heart, and the plowing of the wicked, is sin.–Proverbs 21:4   There’s a lot of debate about what’s right and what’s wrong. Of course if you are one of those who do not believe in absolute truth you will always be confused. There’s not much I can say to help a person like that. But for those of us who believe the Bible is the inerrant word of God right and wrong can easily be defined–or can it be? The answer is “Yes” and “No”.   We can determine what is right by discovering what is lawful according to God’s Word, and we need to spend more time doing that. Our society is in serious trouble simply because people have ignored God’s laws. Our only hope for a bright future is a return to the precepts and principles of God’s Word.   But there’s another matter that is seldom given much thought. Not only must our action be lawful, our motive must be right. If the action is wrong no motive can make it right. Sincerity doesn’t sanctify sin. On the other hand, if our action is right and our motive is wrong it becomes sinful. Motive matters to God.   It is for this reason that an unsaved person cannot please God. People say of their kind unsaved neighbor,”They aren’t saved, but they have a good heart.” But that’s miles from the truth. The heart of their problem is the problem of their heart. Their action might be helpful to others, but their heart is unbelieving, proud, selfish, and void of love for God. That makes their “good” deed a bad thing. They plow the ground and plant the seed with the hope that the sunshine and rain will be provided so as to insure a good crop, yet they reject the very God that makes it happen.   Our text tells us that “the plowing of the wicked is sin”. That seems shocking to some folks–after all, plowing is not unlawful. To the contrary it is necessary and hard work is commendable. But our text categorizes it as sin, right along with things such as “an high look, and a proud heart”. Beyond this, the Bible also tells us that even his religious actions are sinful. Proverbs 15:8 says,”The sacrifices of the wicked is an abomination to the Lord—.”   All this puts the natural man in a bad situation. He can do nothing to satisfy the demands of a righteous God and he stands condemned before God. What an awful thought! Talk all you want about being saved by “good works”, but it sheer folly. You can’t even plow your field without sinning against God. Thankfully Christ has made it possible for us to be reconcilied to God, by faith in His shed blood. As a result everything we do, including the plowing of a field, that is done for God’s glory is rewarded. All of life takes on a new meaning.