The Inescapable Harvest Text: Proverbs 14:14
Introduction: The Universe Is Not Mocked
We live in an age of cosmic defiance. Modern man, in his puffed-up autonomy, believes he can declare war on reality and suffer no casualties. He thinks he can sow thistle seeds and reap a harvest of figs. He imagines he can redefine the most basic building blocks of God's world, things like male and female, good and evil, life and death, and then escape the consequences of his rebellion. He believes he can spit into the wind and remain dry. This is the central lie of our time, and it is a lie as old as the Garden. "You will not surely die," the serpent hissed. And men have been eagerly believing him ever since.
But the book of Proverbs is a bucket of cold, clear water to the face of such foolishness. It is the collected wisdom of God for living in God's world according to God's rules. And one of its central, unbending principles is this: God is not mocked. The universe has a grain, a moral texture, and you cannot go against that grain without getting splinters. You reap what you sow. This is not a threat; it is a description of the moral physics of the world God made. It is as certain as gravity.
Our text today is a sharp, two-edged distillation of this principle. It presents us with two men, two paths, and two very different kinds of satisfaction. One man turns away from the path of wisdom, and the other walks in it. Both men, the proverb tells us, will be "satisfied." Both will get their fill. But the nature of that satisfaction could not be more different. One will be filled with the sour fruit of his own rebellion, a bellyful of ashes. The other will be satisfied with the sweet fruit that grows only in the garden of obedience. This proverb forces us to ask a fundamental question: what are you filling your life with? Because one way or another, you will have your fill.
The Text
The one who turns back in his heart will be satisfied with his ways,
But a good man will be satisfied with his.
(Proverbs 14:14 LSB)
The Backslider's Full Belly (v. 14a)
Let's look at the first man described:
"The one who turns back in his heart will be satisfied with his ways..." (Proverbs 14:14a)
The man described here is a "backslider in heart." This is not talking about a pagan who has always been a pagan. This is someone who was, at least externally, on the right path. He knew the truth. He was numbered among the people of God. Perhaps he made a profession of faith. But in his heart, he turns back. Like Demas, he comes to love this present world. Like the Israelites in the wilderness, his heart turns back to Egypt. This is a deliberate, internal act of treachery. It is an apostasy of the heart.
And what is the result? The proverb says he will be "satisfied with his ways." Other translations say he will be "filled with his own ways." This is a profound piece of divine irony. The backslider turns away from God because he thinks he will find greater satisfaction elsewhere. He wants to be his own god, to chart his own course, to indulge his own appetites. And God, in His terrible justice, says, "Alright. You want your own ways? You can have them. Have your fill."
This is the principle we see in the first chapter of Romans. When men suppress the truth in unrighteousness, God "gives them over" to their lusts. He gives them up to the very things they are chasing. The punishment for sin is often more sin. The man who chases after drink gets a life saturated with it. The man who chases illicit pleasure gets a life defined by it, with all the attendant disease, heartbreak, and emptiness. The man who turns his back on God for the sake of money gets a life where everything is calculated in dollars and cents, and he is filled to the brim with the anxiety and hollowness that comes with it.
The backslider will be satisfied, yes, but it is the satisfaction of a man who has eaten a whole bucket of mud. He is full, but he is not nourished. He has gorged himself on his own choices, and he will have to live with the spiritual indigestion. He has made his bed of rebellion, and God will see to it that he lies in it, right up to his ears. He gets what he wants, and getting what he wants is his damnation. He is filled with himself, and there is no more miserable meal.
The Good Man's True Satisfaction (v. 14b)
But the proverb does not leave us there. It presents a stark contrast.
"...But a good man will be satisfied with his." (Proverbs 14:14b LSB)
The "good man" here is not a sinlessly perfect man. In the context of Proverbs, he is the righteous man, the wise man, the one who fears the Lord and walks in His ways. He is the man whose heart is set on God. And he too will be satisfied. He will be filled with the fruit of his ways, which are God's ways.
Now, some translations render the end of this verse in a way that can be confusing. The King James says the good man is "satisfied from himself." This sounds like some kind of Stoic self-sufficiency. The New King James tries to clarify by saying he is "satisfied from above." That is certainly true, but it might be an interpretive leap. The most straightforward reading, reflected in versions like the ESV and our LSB here, is that there is a parallel. The backslider is filled with the fruit of his evil ways, and the good man is filled with the fruit of his good ways. Both men reap what they sow.
What does this satisfaction look like? It is the opposite of the backslider's bloated misery. The good man sows righteousness, and he reaps peace. He sows faithfulness, and he reaps a stable life. He sows generosity, and he reaps friendship and God's provision. He sows self-control, and he reaps a clear conscience and a sound mind. His satisfaction is not the fleeting thrill of transgression, but the deep, abiding joy of a life lived in harmony with its Creator.
This does not mean the good man's life is free from trouble. Proverbs is not a book of geometric axioms; it's a book of wisdom for a fallen world. But it does mean that even in the midst of trials, the man whose ways are God's ways has an internal source of satisfaction that the world cannot give and cannot take away. His satisfaction comes from knowing he is pleasing the only one whose opinion ultimately matters. He is building his house on the rock, and when the rains come, that house stands. He is planting good seed in good soil, and the harvest is sure.
Conclusion: Two Feasts, Two Fates
So we are left with two pictures, two banquets. At one table sits the backslider. He is the prodigal son in the far country, just after the money has run out. He has had his fill of riotous living, and now his belly is full of the pig's food. He is stuffed with his own ways, and he is starving.
At the other table sits the good man. He is the son who remained with the father. He is satisfied with the fruit of a life lived in fellowship with God. His is the satisfaction of a job well done, of a conscience at peace, of a soul nourished by the bread of heaven.
This proverb is a crossroads. It forces every one of us to look at the path we are on and the food we are eating. Are you feeding on your own ways? Are you telling yourself that you can cheat the system, that you can find lasting satisfaction apart from the God who made you for Himself? If you are, then God's word to you today is a merciful warning: the meal you are eating will turn to gravel in your mouth. You will be filled, yes, but it will be a fullness of regret and sorrow.
But the good news of the gospel is that the backslider's path is not a one-way street. The prodigal can come home. The one who has turned back in his heart can turn back to God. Christ is the one who invites us to a different feast. "He who comes to Me shall never hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst" (John 6:35). He offers a satisfaction that is not from ourselves, but from Him. He offers a righteousness that is not our own, but His, imputed to us by faith.
When we, by faith, are united to Christ, we become "good men" in the ultimate sense. And we begin to sow to the Spirit. We begin to walk in His ways. And the promise of this proverb becomes our own. We will be satisfied. We will reap a harvest of righteousness, joy, and peace in the Holy Spirit. We will be filled not with our own ways, but with "all the fullness of God." That is a satisfaction that lasts for eternity.