It will work if you work it: it took two generations to discover the relationship between smoking and health. I wonder how long it will take us to discover the elements that cause a happy family.

Wise man Solomon announced there's nothing new under the sun. So, in the strictest sense, we don't invent anything; we discover it.

In the realm of the physical sciences, that's known as cause and effect. When a scientist or engineer wants to "invent" something, the challenge is to discover all the causes that must be brought together to produce the desired effect.

In nature, we don't make the rules either. Our challenge is to identify those already in place. Gardening provides a case in point. Those who do well at it simply help create the environment growing plants have been programmed to need.

One bright summer afternoon, a friend of mine, boasting a decidedly green thumb, showed me through his garden. Among the variety of vegetables growing at our feet was a large zucchini squash plant. Noticing that the edges of some of the leaves were turning yellow, I asked what the cause was. "They need boron," he replied.

Until that moment I'd thought boron had something to do with a grade of gasoline. Where in the world would a gardener find boron? My friend shrugged. "Boron," he explained patiently, "is found in Twenty Mule Team borax."

The problems we face in life are the result of employing certain causes. "Do not be deceived," the apostle Paul admonishes in Galatians 6:7. "God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows." In this setting the text is referencing not gardening, but life.

If nature employs cause and effect, why wouldn't human nature do the same? Truth is, human nature is a matter of cause and effect. However, while nature struggles to do what it's supposed to do, we humans seem bent on doing what we're not supposed to do.

The Bible places a knowing finger on the problem. "There is a way that seems right to a man, but in the end it leads to death" (Proverbs 16:25). "Everyone who sins breaks the law; in fact, sin is lawlessness" (1 John 3:4).

For many people, rules are fine for golf, the Super Bowl, or a contract to buy a new house. But when it comes to relating to God, or your neighbor, or your health, our contemporary culture teaches that anything is all right if it's right for you. Unfortunately, the law of cause and effect declares in no uncertain terms that that's not the way it works.

Albert Einstein, probably fresh from run-in with someone who was trying to live life outside the constraints of the law, is credited with saying that insanity is doing the same thing again and again and expecting different results.

It took two generations to discover the relationship between smoking and health. I wonder how long it will take us to discover the elements that cause a happy family. To put it another way--What would happen within our families and communities if we were as conscientious about keeping the last six commandments (Exodus 20:12-17) as a pilot is about following the preflight checklist before racing down a runway with 300 lives sitting behind him?

Whether we consider ourselves to be religious or not, success in this life--and in the life to come will be in direct proportion to bow effectively we implement the laws of cause and effect here on this planet.

During this glorious time of year, thousands of people want to know how to make their flower or vegetable gardens produce the desired effect. They're buying gardening books and carefully reading the instructions on packets of seeds. Seems to me that if we can learn how to grow a tomato or a rose, there must be a way for us to learn how to live a healthy, happy life.

Thankfully, there is. "All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so the man [and woman] of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work" (2 Timothy 3:16).

What works for successful gardening also works for successful living. Why not take time every day to learn from the ultimate health and happiness book--the Bible?

Here's a quick seed to plant in your mind: "A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs tip anger" (Proverbs 15: 1) Try it the next time someone crosses you. It will work if you work it.

Richard O'Ffill writes from Longwood, Florida. His book Lord, Keep Your Mansions--Just Save My Children is available at www.adventistbookcenter.com.