Do something — anything — different

Wisdom from the wisest man who ever lived:

Plant your seed in the morning and keep busy all afternoon, for you don’t know if profit will come from one activity or another—or maybe both.  Ecclesiastes 11:6 (NLT)

Note the phrase, “you don’t know.” From a more straightforward translation:

In the morning sow your seed, and at evening withhold not your hand, for you do not know which will prosper, this or that, or whether both alike will be good.  Ecclesiastes 11:6 (ESV)

You don’t know what is going to happen if you try this or that. You don’t know what is going to happen if you cancel this or start that. You don’t know. You can’t know. So, try something—anything—different.

Try something different because you can know this. You can know what will happen if you don’t try something different. If you keep doing what you have been doing, you will keep getting what you have been getting. If you want more, do more. If you want different, do different.

You will reap what you sow:

Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows.  Galatians 6:7 (NIV2011)

People often ask God to violate this principle when they pray. In essence, they pray, “Lord we are going to keep doing what we have been doing, but we are asking you to give us different results.” Never going to happen. If you keep doing what you have been doing…

You can’t plant corn and pray for beans and expect God to give you beans. If you plant beans, you will get beans, even if you pray for corn. God cannot be mocked. If you keep doing…

So, if you like what you are getting, keep doing what you are doing. If you don’t, do something-anything-different.

Lessons are around $10 per teacher per year for medium-sized churches. Other plans available. See www.mybiblestudylessons.com