Proverbs 11:26 He that withholdeth corn, the people shall curse him: but blessing shall be upon the head of him that selleth it.
27 He that diligently seeketh good procureth favour: but he that seeketh mischief, it shall come unto him.
28 He that trusteth in his riches shall fall: but the righteous shall flourish as a branch.
There are farmers who have managed to make a fair amount of money and now they sit on their crops until they see a high enough price. Jesus warned of the rich farmer who had a very good crop and did not know what to do about it. He decided to tear down his existing storage and build bigger. Then he would sit back and enjoy a life of leisure as he slowly sold off his crop when he decided to. Jesus called this man a fool. He died that very night and when he died, he lost control of all that he had. He ended up in hell.
Farmers should have the conviction of the privilege and blessing they have of producing the food that many others need. Of course they need to make money. They need to be able to cover their costs and make a profit. Farm equipment wears out. It needs to be repaired or replaced. However, there also needs to be accountability on the farm just as any other place.
God tells us there is a blessing for the farmer who sells his crop.
Canada has a supply management system for eggs and dairy and a few other things. At times farmers dump their excess milk down the drain because they are over quota and they want to keep the price of milk artificially high. There have been times when dairy farmers did not know what to do with the bull calves and so they would just kill them and drag them out for coyotes to eat.
It would be nice if we could say that Christian farmers know better, but sadly, that is not necessarily the case. Too often farmers and others forget who sends the rain and the sunshine and the health and all the rest. God is the One Who designed the soil in such a way that it will produce crops year after year. Certainly the good farmer can utilize what God has given him better than the poor farmer. The good farmer is the one who walks in the fear of the Lord and glorifies Him.
In verse 27 we see the importance of seeking good. I listened to a man recently who is a professing Christian. He talked of his job during the wuhan virus debacle. He supported the mandates and acted as though they were legitimate laws to be enforced. He was one of the enforcers. There was discussion at that same table of how the Nazi soldiers bowed to Hitler’s evil commands. This man did the same thing. He bowed to the WHO, a corrupt, wicked organization. He did it because his pay check was there and it was a good check.
I Timothy 6:10 For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.
The reason evil abounds is because people who should know better support the advancement of evil. The person that diligently seeks good will seek after favour. Favour with God is of far greater importance than a pay check.
The person who looks for mischief will find it. It is all about choices.
True Christians are founded upon the Rock. Jesus talked about that house in Matthew 7. That house stands because it is built upon the Rock. A building that is built upon the Rock cannot fall.
A person who builds his life upon the Truth cannot fall. A true Christian that is growing in the Lord cannot enforce wicked wuhan mandates. The government is not finished with this evil. They are still plotting. We will see if they enact another experiment before the Rapture or not. They want to do it. They just need to be sure, in their minds, they can pull it off. The good news is that there is a God in heaven who limits the wickedness of man. That same God also protects His Word. He will still bless those who choose to stand up for truth. That blessing is not necessarily material gain. It is always the peace that passeth understanding. That peace cannot be bought. That peace is a gift from God.
Verse 28 continues this same thought. Riches have their place. Many a rich person has lost everything because they were blinded by their riches. Many a rich person is suffering in hell now because they sacrificed truth to climb the ladder.
The righteous shall flourish as a branch. They will get their “leaves” in the spring and their fruit in the summer. They will survive the cold of winter and be ready to repeat the cycle because they trust in the Lord. You cannot supersede God’s way of doing things.
Canada has a shortage of righteous men. We don’t have any in politics. We have few in the police force or as doctors and nurses. We are in a mess. We have so many weak Christians who cannot make wise decisions because they do not believe in a God Who is Absolute. God gave us His Word. He IS preserving His Word. We can know the Truth and we can know how to respond to the many wiles of the devil. We need to have the armour of God on. How about it?
Pastor Bartel