sowing and reaping
Agricultural cause-effect cycle
Sowing and reaping refers to the agricultural cycle of planting seeds and harvesting crops, used almost exclusively in its figurative sense: actions produce consequences of the same kind.
The biblical phrase you reap what you sow captures the idea—plant kindness, harvest kindness; plant cruelty, harvest cruelty.
The expression implies moral accountability and inevitable returns on one's behavior.
- harvestGathering mature crops
- harvest timeSeason of collecting crops
- seedsPlant embryos in casings
- plantingPlacing seeds in earth
- cropsCultivated plants for harvest
planting season · fields · farmer · tilling the soil · autumn · grain · wheat · scythe · furrow · toil · abundance · yield · bumper crop · karma · cause and effect · consequences · cultivate · growth
- Biblical imageryLamb of God, Good Shepherd, bread of life, light of the world, living water
- Biblical WisdomEcclesiastes, Job, wisdom of Solomon, King Solomon, Solomon
- Prosperity Gospelprosperity gospel, televangelist, televangelism, megachurch, seed money
- cycleslife cycle, cycle, circle of life, cycles, period
sowing and reapingfreeloading
Exploiting others' generosity
parasitism · mooching · sponging · idleness · sloth
sowing and reapingwindfall
Unanticipated lucky gain
something for nothing · luck · chance · manna from heaven · dumb luck
sowing and reapinginstant gratification
Satisfaction without delay
strip mining · plundering · pillaging · killing the goose that lays the golden eggs · extraction
sowing, sown, sowers, reap, reaping, reaped, reaper, reapers