Corn for Sale
He that withholdeth corn, the people shall curse him: but blessing shall be upon the head of him that selleth it. ~Proverbs 11:26
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I like corn that is freshly picked. There is a sweetness to freshly picked corn. Once you have boiled them in water, they are so delicious to eat. Corn is an essential staple. Corn is necessary as food, as fuel, and even as certain plastics and fabrics. Corn is an essential, and a good harvest of corn is helpful to the survival of people and livestock. Our devotion this morning centers itself on people who possess corn but withhold this resource from others. Our devotion this morning deals with the question: what are you doing with your corn?
There is the stewardship.
The harvesting of corn was not meant to stay in the barn. Corn was meant to take care of our immediate families. However, since most corn was harvested in good-sized amounts, harvesters would make it available for other people to buy. Entire communities, local and abroad, were dependent upon corn growers. Can you imagine a corn harvester withholding what he has from those who need to buy it? This principle speaks to us about the responsibility of stewardship. We are to share and make available what we have been entrusted with for the benefit of others. The gospel message is to be shared. Our resources are to be shared. Our time is to be shared.
There is the suppressing.
Solomon speaks of the one who withholds corn. Think back with me to Genesis and the life of Joseph. Joseph was put in charge of the harvesting and storage of corn for a time of terrible famine. Can you imagine how horrific the famine was for seven years? The only place in the world where anyone could get corn was in Egypt! Can you imagine how terrible it would have been if he had withheld selling the corn and allowed people to starve and die? But that is what many Christians do with the gospel message, service opportunities, giving opportunities, and their time. "Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin."
There is the sacrilege.
The people curse the one who withholds the corn. He is considered a low-life who is stingy, self-absorbed, and only concerned for himself. The one withholding is seen as unreliable, irresponsible, and lacking concern. He is written off as an enemy to the people. What a terrible thing to be entrusted by God with His Word, His gospel, His talents, and His treasures only to withhold all of this from the benefit of others. When we withhold the corn, no one gets saved, no one is built up in the Word of God, no one is encouraged, and no one is helped.
There is the sanction.
There is blessing to him who makes it available. He has God’s blessing or sanction upon his life. He is seeking first the kingdom of God and His righteousness. He is blessed with increase, more responsibilities, more resources, and more reward. He sees lives changed through God’s Word, through soulwinning, and through sacrifice. He becomes a model of God’s blessing upon us when we make the corn available.
Consider this morning what God has placed in your hands, and be a good steward of it! Trust God for your responsibilities, and be an excellent steward of the things placed into your hands.
Have a responsible God Morning!
Bible Reading Schedule: 2 Samuel 19-21