Soweth

Here's a quick word etymology lesson for those of you who are keeping score at home.

Sow-eth, the archaic third-person singular present tense suffix. In other words it is the act of sowing, distributing or sowing.

But I can't help stumble over the KJV rendition of this word. Soweth.

There are sixteen times when soweth is used in the Scriptures. There are all kinds of places that it creeps up in the story of scripture.

There is the Proverbs moment where a warning is given to, "he that soweth discord among the brethren." 6:19. Hmm....scattering conflict among the brethren is a pretty serious problem.

There is the Pauline use in Galatians, "For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting." 6:8. This is a modern expression of what it means to be on an ego trip.

Here's one last one..."Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap." Galatians 6:8

That's a lot of "soweths."

I wonder if I stumble over the archaic use of that word and forget to sow. Quite frankly, I don't read from the King James because of the "-eths, doths, and shalts."

It trips me up. Nobody I know talks like that except for a few people that prayed out loud on Wednesday evening when I was growing up.

I wonder how many things we stumble over. I wonder how many words are in the Scripture that trip us and we fail to do what they say.

Ancient statues often contain petroglyphs using ancient words, things like "whatsoever a man soweth..." It would be easy to walk past, admire the beauty of the carvings, and go on about our way.

It is quite another to stop, look at the words and let them be carved into our hearts of stone.

I want to be a person that "soweth." I want to "sow."

So what? you say.

I want to "sow" the seed that God has given me. I want to "sow" stories into the hearts of waiting people.

"Soweth"...yes, its an old word form, but the concept is fresh and needed in a world of hearts that are often closed to the Greatest Story.

How are you doing in the "soweth" department?

Just a thought.....