Most of us have probably heard the Golden Rule. “Treat others the way you want to be treated.” However, a few years ago I read about the Golden Result on Ken Sande’s Relational Wisdom blog. “Other people will usually treat you the way you treat them.” This is similar to Galatians 6:7, which tells us that we will reap what we sow.

If we plant seeds of kindness, respect, humility and love, we reap those same things. The same is true about the negative. If we sow anger, discord, manipulation and hatred, we will often receive the same treatment from those around us.

So the next time you are around negative people, think about the seeds you can plant. Many times people who behave badly need some kindness. They will often respond well to the positive. While this is not a guarantee, I believe we will find this true often. Either way, for those of us that say we love God, we should seek to sow positive seeds and pull the weeds of negativity.

May God be glorified in the “plants” that grow in our lives.