Don’t Compare Your Harvest
Be happy with those who are happy, and weep with those who weep. (Romans 12:15 NLT)
Finally, the soil is warm enough to put tomato plants in the ground and anticipate sunflowers stretching toward warmth. It takes until June for that to be a reliable bet in Chicago. Before that, we’re busy working the midwestern clay soil with all the compost it can hold and culling the thousands of weed seedlings that don’t care as much as tomatoes do if the soil is healthy.
A good harvest requires good soil.
The harvest, though, depends on more than the soil. Good tomatoes need far more sun and warmth than rain and cold. A solid bean harvest relies on how well we thin the crop. The abundance of cherries directly correlates to the busyness of my husband’s beehive.
We care for the soil, but the Master Gardener controls the full extent of the harvest.
Jesus’s story about good soil tells a tale we gardeners know by heart. Weeds, rocks, and bad weather can ruin an otherwise promising harvest. A story hidden within that story, however, can encourage all gardeners. Jesus said, “‘Still other seeds fell on fertile soil, and they produced a crop that was thirty, sixty, and even a hundred times as much as had been planted!’” (Matthew 13:8 NLT).
A funny thing happens at this point in his story. The seed sown on good soil yields different amounts. The soil is all good, yet the outcome differs. I imagine the farmer looking at the fatter heads of wheat in the neighbor’s field and wondering, “Hey, why did I do the same amount of work for this tiny harvest? Why is her produce so much healthier-looking than mine?” Comparing harvests suddenly makes our August tomatoes look smaller and less worthy.
God, however, doesn’t stand at the harvest gate with a scale, checking everyone’s return and measuring them against one another. He doesn’t say, “Hey, you—one hundred times what those others brought in! Fist bump, girl! But you—you are such a failure. You only returned ten times what I gave you. Loser.”
Nope. He doesn’t do that. He rejoices over everyone’s return, no matter how great or small. He knows what we’re designed to do, and his desire is that we bear the fruit we were made for and make it good. We don’t need to worry about how much. We don’t need to bust out the scales ahead of time and start side-eyeing everyone else’s produce.
That’s a sure way to invite weeds to choke out our tomatoes.
God is overjoyed at our return. Not the size of it—the fact of it. He celebrates the people who returned ten times as much exactly the same as he celebrates the ones who returned a hundred times. He would say the same thing to both—the same thing he says to the servants in another of Jesus’s stories: “Well done, my good and faithful servant…Let’s celebrate together!” (Matthew 25:23 NLT).
Here’s my thought: Why not celebrate that way with others ahead of time? Instead of envying what they’re producing, what if we take a cue from God and celebrate what they’re doing? What if, rather than compare, we rejoice with them over their harvest?
What if we write a note of blessing to that woman whose ministry is on a roll? How about sending congratulations to the one whose family seems to always be succeeding? Maybe saying a kind word, pointing out the value of that person who gets ahead at work before we do?
It’s not easy, by any means. Stomping down those weeds of envy never is. Letting them grow only makes our yield worse and doesn’t decrease anyone else’s. It does the complete opposite of what we really want.
God wants to rejoice over the gifts he has given you, knowing all the time how much your field will yield. He never demands more. The harvest varies with the plan of the Master Gardener. The celebration, however, is for everyone together.
Lord, help me keep focused on the fruit you have for me to bear. Give me a passion for making it the best it can be, no matter the volume. Make your impact through me however you choose. Amen.
Scripture for Reflection
The Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. (Galatians 5:22–23 NLT)
A peaceful heart leads to a healthy body; jealousy is like cancer in the bones. (Proverbs 14:30 NLT)
Make it your goal to live a quiet life, minding your own business and working with your hands, just as we instructed you before. (1 Thessalonians 4:11 NLT)
Reach for More
Recall two or three ways God has shown you what fruit you’re bearing. How has that encouragement made you feel? What passion has God given you that can grow to be greater than you alone? How can you encourage someone else today, letting her know her fruit-bearing has helped you?
is a writer, speaker, pastor, mom of three, and author of five books. She likes to travel, grow flowers, read Tolkien, and research her next project. She believes in Jesus, grace, restoration, kindness, justice, and dark chocolate. Her passion is partnering with the next generation of faith. Jill blogs at jillmrichardson.com.
Photograph © Nine Köpfer, used with permission
