Whatever We Sow, We Reap

If the past has taught us anything it is that every cause brings its effect, every action has a consequence.  There is a saying:  “If a man plants melons he will reap melons; if he sows beans, he will reap beans.”  And this is true of everyone’s life; good begets good, and evil leads to evil.

True enough, the sun shines on the saint and the sinner alike, and too often it seems that the wicked prosper.  But we can say with certainty that, with the individual as with the nation, the flourishing of the wicked is an illusion, for, unceasingly, life keeps books on us all.

In the end, we are all the sum total of our actions.  Character cannot be counterfeited, nor can it be put on and cast off as if it were a garment to meet the whim of the moment.  Like the markings on wood which are ingrained in the very heart of the tree, character requires time and nurturing for growth and development.

Thus also, day by day, we write our own destiny; for inexorably we become what we do.

– Madame Chiang Kai-shek