Writers as Harvesters of Righteousness

by Tammy Karasek @TickledPinkTam

When I hear the word harvest, I immediately think of gathering something. In my mind, I see the farmers gathering up the fruits of their labor that have ripened. During this time of year near where I used to live in Ohio, farmers have gathered their grain to store up for the winter to come. The corn is in the silo, ready to feed the animals through the long cold season.

I read the following scripture and had to stop and re-read it. I hadn’t put harvest and righteousness together before. 

“And a harvest of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace.” 

(James 3:18 ESV)

A harvest of righteousness. This expression made me pause. I wondered about the deeper meaning of it and wanted to understand it more clearly so I dug further, looking up the various definitions of both harvest and righteous.    

• Harvest – to gain, win, acquire, or use; the result of an act.
• Righteous – acting in an upright, moral way, virtuous.

Now as I read the scripture, it meant something different. If I changed the wording a little (not changing the meaning), it taught me that we have a responsibility of harvesting righteousness. Hear me out …

A harvest (or gain, acquiring) of righteousness (by acting in an upright, moral or virtuous way) is sown in peace by those who make peace. 

This made me think about how we treat others. If you watch the nightly news, we aren’t doing so well with this of late. But I believe we need to look at our own reflection, too. Do we  act righteously? Do we  try to make peace? Or are we quick to critique others, or even attack them for their differences? Judgmental maybe? 

As we head into this holiday season, the hustle and bustle of this time of year can sometimes raise our stress levels. More realistically, it does raise them! We can become impatient, critical or snarky . . . anyone relate? Please tell me it’s not just me. 

If we want others to treat us well, we need to do the same. When we do our best to make peace, I believe more peace will be seen in our surroundings. In other words, if you want more peace, you can gather or harvest it by sowing peace to those you have an opportunity to be with. 

Writers have an excellent opportunity to write encouragement and words of peace anytime we put something down in print. At the holidays should be no different. If anything, we should look for more ways to lift those around us with words of cheer, encouragement to their tired souls and bring ‘em a bit of Jesus in everything we write. 

Might I suggest that as we head into this wonderful time of year, we all strive to be harvesters of righteousness? That we make (and keep) peace with those we encounter by acting in an upright, moral or virtuous way each day. 

And yes, even with that cranky aunt you might get stuck sitting beside at the Thanksgiving table this year!

Will you set out to be a harvester of righteousness with me?

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Writers as Harvesters of Righteousness - @TickledPinkTam on @EdieMelson (Click to Tweet)

You’ll find Tammy seeing humor and causing laughter in every aspect of life. Her past, filled with bullying and criticism from family, is the driving force of her passion to always encourage others and give them The Reason to smile. She’s been married to her college sweetheart, Larry, for 37 years, a mom to their grown daughter, Kristen, and wrapped around the paw of a little dog named Hattie. Born and raised in Ohio, her family now resides in South Carolina. She is the President of Word Weavers Upstate SC, member of ACFW and My Book Therapy/Novel Academy. She’s the Blog Editor for Word Weavers International. A Conference Assistant for Blue Ridge Christian Writers Conference. A monthly contributor for The Write Conversation. A contributor in the 2018 Divine Moments Compilation Book—Cool-inary Moments. Also a regular contributor to several other blogs. 

Connect with Tammy: Blog: http://www.tammykarasek.com  Email: tickledpinktammy@gmail.com