The source of the proverb is the Bible:’ What so ever a man soweth, that shall he also reap’.

The religious meaning of the proverb is that one will be rewarded or punished according to whether one leads a virtuous or a sinful life. Accordingly, happiness or misery in our life is the result of our own deeds.

In an extended sense, the proverb suggests that we are responsible for the consequences of our actions. Every action of ours has a result. Good actions produce good results where as bad actions produce bad results. The results are proportionate to the efforts men put in.

A person who sins throughout life one cannot expect salvation. A student who wanders throughout the year cannot think of topping in the examination. In much the same way, 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 the seeds and the manner of the sowing.

Every discipline has its own character and demands and until one fulfils them he cannot reach anywhere. Rise and success in life demand labour, industry, toil and effort. A good result is a manifestation of intense efforts that have gone into its making. A lazy person cannot achieve anything good as long as he does not exert himself enough.

Madam Curie is known today because of the intense effort she and her husband put in. Florence Nightingale ‘s name we lovingly recall because of the love and care with which she nursed the wounded soldiers. Hitler creates terror in our hearts and is abhorred to this day.

Thus, it becomes clear that ‘as you sow, so shall you reap’.

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“I truly enjoy no more of the world's good things than what I willingly distribute to the needy”