We are all planting crops in life, good ones or bad ones, and the day of harvest is coming. What kind of crops are you planting?

One evening while visiting my father-in-law in Florida, we waited out a passing thunderstorm in our car at a popular outdoor restaurant. We were pleased to get one of the three handicapped (accessible) parking spots, as my 85-year-old father-in-law has difficulty walking.

As the storm passed, awaiting our call to be seated, another vehicle pulled into the accessible parking spot next to us. From the back seat of our car, I watched as the driver, a young woman, hung an accessible permit on the rearview mirror. I continued watching as she and another young woman got out of the car, dressed to the nines in designer clothes, stilettos and designer handbags, with nails and hair done to a T, neither of them with an apparent handicap.

I kept waiting for them to get grandma or someone who needed that parking spot out of the back seat. But they didn’t. Instead, as they made their way toward the front of the restaurant, I saw them look at each other with raised eyebrows and a grin as if to say in secret code, perhaps, “Whew. We ‘beat the system.’”

Immediately, a scripture verse came to mind – “He who is first will be last, and he who is last will be first.” Of course, that verse is specific to a particular parable Jesus was sharing and is interpreted different ways by different people but it seemed apropos at the time.

Someone who is “handicapped” would seemingly be at a disadvantage in life, and in many ways, they are; however, God has seen to it that they get some of the choicest spots and seats in life. Or at least they are supposed to.

Sometimes, however, I wonder who is actually at a “disadvantage” in life, because I know many “handicapped” people who never use those parking spots and who have accomplished more in life than some of us ever will, despite their challenges.

Those young women, who apparently took advantage of the system, a system that was designed to help those who need the help, might get away with that for a season but they will not get away with it forever; for God’s Word says, “Be careful; your sins will find you out” (Numbers 32:23).

The Bible teaches that we reap what we sow, later than we sow and more than we sow. That is a universal Law that God, the Creator, put into effect when He created His universe. It applies to all people, Christian and non-Christian alike. When a farmer sows corn, he does not reap wheat on the day of harvest.

Maybe that’s why God calls us to live by the golden rule — “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you” (Matthew 7:12).

Scripture says, “Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of Him to whom we must give account” (Hebrews 4:13).

Yes, the Bible tells us that God extends mercy and grace to anyone who repents of their sin and comes to Him through His Son Jesus. God will enable them to start planting good crops in life and I pray those young women do just that.

But as I sat in the back seat of the car on that rainy day, I couldn’t help thinking … those women may have “beat the system” in their minds but, according to God’s Word, they were in fact, planting a bad crop with seeds of deception, selfishness and greed, and unfortunately for them, the day of harvest is coming.

Lisa Hannan lives in Valdosta with her husband, attorney Miles Hannan, who has been practicing law in Valdosta for more than 30 years. She has a B.S. in psychology from Valdosta State University. You can find her at www.lisahannan.org.