As You Sow So Shall You Reap
Whatever we do is returned to us in an increased quantity, in much the same way as a farmer’s labours and his seeds are returned to him in the form of the yield of his crop. The output of the farmer is dependent on the quality of seeds and the manner of his sowing it. In the same way, we are rewarded or punished for our deeds. But this proverb refers more to the consequences of our misdeeds than to our good deeds. Sooner or later we all have to account for our evil deeds. We have to pay for what we have done and cannot escape the punishment. It may be that the punishment is delayed and temporarily we might seem to be unaffected and enjoy the fruits of our misdeeds. But we cannot go on enjoying it for long. Nemesis is bound to overtake us. It is also seen that a murderer is let off by the courts of law. But this does not mean that God has freed him from his sin. In the divine scheme of things, his punishment will come in due course. Moreover, the conscience of the guilty person is the worst accuser and it never allows his mind to rest in peace. Take the case of Macbeth, a murderer in cold blood. From the very moment of the murder of King Duncan, he became his own worst accuser and it never allowed him complete rest or peace of mind until his death, he suffered like a spirit in hell. He could never sleep. He could not enjoy the fruits of his ill-gotten kingdom. Tortured by doubts and tormented by terrors, he committed more murders and let loose a reign of terror to secure himself. His dream of a rosy future was shattered to bits and turned to dust and ashes. Life lost all the meaning and became ‘a tale told by an idiot. And as he himself confessed, he felt himself to be tied to a pole like a bear beset with hounds which finally tore him to pieces. It is enough to show that bad deeds will never bear good fruits.
