Did you ever throw a boomerang?A boomerang is a V-shaped piece of wood that, when thrown correctly, travels in a curved path and returns to its point of origin.For someone who knows how to use a boomerang, it can be thrown and caught safely. However, for someone who does not know how to use a boomerang, throwing one can be a risky proposition that can lead to a headache.
In a way, everything that we do in life is like throwing boomerangs.We do and say things, and they always come back to us.This is true in everything we do – in life, in marriage, in family, in business, in economics – everything we do has a consequence that comes back to us.Isaac Newton’s third law of motion really applies to all things – “every action has an equal and opposite reaction.”This is a natural and moral law that cannot be broken.Those who think they can violate this law without consequences have deceived themselves.The boomerang always comes back.
The essential, moral, and practical message of the Bible confirms the reciprocal nature of all that we do.This law of reciprocity is well stated in Galatians 6:7-8 – “Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, this he will also reap.For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life.”The experience of sowing and reaping in nature teaches us that a seed always produces after its own kind (Gen. 1:11-12).So it is in life that kindness begets kindness, goodness begets goodness, and mercy begets mercy.Likewise, evil begets evil, cruelty begets cruelty, and deceit begets deception.As the passage quoted above says, sowing to the flesh can only produce corruption, for the seed of fleshly lust cannot produce anything else.However, sowing to the Spirit (or spirit) will produce eternal spiritual life, for Christ has provided the spiritual seed, which is the word of God (Matt. 13:18-23; 1Pet. 1:23).
Unfortunately, many people have to learn this truth the hard way, and some never learn it at all in this life.Like a child who does not believe that the stove is hot until he gets burned, some do not believe their actions will have consequences.Somehow, they believe that they will get an exception to the rules that govern everyone else.There are many examples: adulterers who think they will never get caught, even though thousands of marriages are thus ended every year; fornicators who think their sin is harmless, even though unwanted children are born of such sin every day; parents who think nothing of neglecting their children’s spirituality in favor of worldly gains, even though their children know nothing of God; smokers who think they can smoke without getting sick, even though others are dying from the habit; Christians who think they can do nothing for the cause of Christ and still please Him, even though He has commanded our diligence (1Cor. 15:58).These examples could go on and on, but the point is made and the evidence is all around us – every action (or lack of) will receive a reaction (or lack of).When you throw a boomerang, it will come back whether you expect it or not.
Rather than suffer the penalties of our errors, let us benefit from history, the experience of others, and the word of God.We have seen the severe consequences of others’ sins (David, for example).We have heard the instructions of our parents, peers, and elders who seek to spare us from repeating mistakes that they have made.We have read the Scriptures that present us with simple principles of cause and effect (consider the pattern of almost every proverb).Why not learn from these and save ourselves from a world of trouble?We have also seen the joy of those who are right with God, heard the testimony of those who have come to know the Lord, and read the promises of God in the Bible.Why not follow the patterns of God’s word and those who have succeeded before us and reap eternal rewards with them?
Remember, when you speak and act, you are throwing a boomerang that is coming back to you.What do you hope to catch on the rebound?Do you want life, joy, and peace, or do you want death, misery, and separation from God?Throw your boomerang, sow your seed, and live your life in such a way that only good, and nothing evil, will return to you.“For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Rom. 6:23)
