Sow a Thought, Reap a Word

By Cindy Williams, RN

Coordinator, Health Ministries

“Sow a thought, reap a word.

Sow a word, reap an action.

Sow an action, reap a habit.

Sow a habit, reap a character.

Sow a character, reap a destiny.”

There are quite a number of variations on this quote and it is attributed to nearly as many people. But is it true? What connection does it have to goals or health?

Have you ever told yourself that something is too hard? Maybe you have said “I can’t ___ (fill in the blank)” or “I know I should ____ but I just don’t have time (money, energy, etc.).” That thought and those words have an impact on our actions. They may, in fact, be the root of success or failure. The problem is that many of our thoughts and words just pop in our head and are said without much analysis or verification of whether they are true. They are also often accompanied by emotions that contribute to a negative outcome. How do we deal with those automatic thoughts and feelings?

It isn’t easy. There are no quick standard answers to changing deeply engrained thought patterns. But there is hope. 2 Corinthians 10:3-5 (NIV) says: “For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.” Have you ever tried to stop thinking about something? The only way to do that is to start thinking about something else. This Scripture says to put our thoughts in jail if needed to make them obedient to Christ. We have divine power in our artillery! Focusing on Jesus and the truth of who we are in Him will captivate our thoughts and thus our words and actions.

Sometimes we can’t do this on our own. We need the help of another to bring about the changes we need in our thinking patterns. Please know that there is no shame in seeking professional help from a counselor to teach us new thinking patterns. Cognitive behavioral therapy is a highly effective counseling technique that is consistent with Biblical principles. Let's fight with every tool we have at our disposal to become physically, mentally, and spiritually healthy for His glory.

This article is part of a continuing series of health during these COVID times. For other articles, please see www.uccsda.org/healthministries.

Photo by Brett Jordan on Unsplash.