The Struggle Is Real (The Flesh, The World, and the Devil) - The Law of Returns [Ryan Ashley]

Galatians 6:1-9

Deceitful ideas, that play to disordered desires, that are normalized in a sinful society.

The Law of Returns

1. Every Action has a Reaction

2. That Reaction is often Disproportionate to the Action

“No matter what we sow, the law of return applies. Good or evil, love or hate, justice or tyranny, grapes or thorns, a gracious compliment or a peevish complaint – whatever we invest, we tend to get it back with interest. Lovers are loved; haters, hated. Forgivers usually get forgiven; those who live by the sword die by the sword. ‘God is not mocked, for you reap whatever you sow.’”

Cornelius Plantiga Jr.

“Inside a given human life, the dynamics of sowing, reaping and resowing lie behind the process of character formation. Dispositions and acts form character, which then forms dispositions and acts. A mere state of mind can eventually swell to become a person’s destiny. A fuller statement of the great law of returns would therefore go something like this: sow a thought, and reap a deed; sow a deed and reap another deed; sow a some deeds and reap a habit; sow some habits, and reap a character, sow a character, and reap two thoughts. The new thoughts then begin to pursue careers of their own…”

Cornelius Plantiga Jr.

“Your deepest desire is the one manifested by your daily life and habits. This is because our action—our doing—bubbles up from our loves, which, as we’ve observed, are habits we’ve acquired through the practices we’re immersed in. That means the formation of my loves and desires can be happening “under the hood” of consciousness. I might be learning to love a telos that I’m not even aware of and that nonetheless governs my life in unconscious ways.” 

James K.A. Smith - You Are What You Love