Share the Heavenly Grain! (Proverbs 11:26)
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Proverbs 11:26
The people curse him who holds back grain,
but a blessing is on the head of him who sells it.
This verse today follows Proverbs 11:24-25, which we prayed through yesterday, and in principle I think it builds off the generosity that we looked at, though today it seems to be a bit more practical.
‘The people curse him who holds back grain,
but a blessing is on the head of him who sells it.’
The lesson here is simple: don’t withhold what is good for greater gain at the expense of others.
Here we see someone who has a good that the people need and want. He’s got grain – he’s got bread. But he could withhold the good in his own self-interest, either for his own use or to drive up the price. To the contrary – if he were to sell it, if he were to give up his bread for the sake of the people, living with their best interest in mind – he would receive a blessing.
But this verse is about much bigger things than just buying and selling bread – think about all that God has given you. The talents, the wisdom, the opportunities. Just like this man had grain, you have something to offer too.
And of the gifts you have to offer, the Bible says in 1 Peter 4:10, ‘As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God's varied grace’. Our gifts are not meant to be self-indulgent – we’re meant to use them in service of others.
So to use our gifts not with our neighbor in mind but for our own purposes and our own self-interest – that would be unfaithful to the Lord. The people curse someone like that. But a blessing is on the head of those who use their gifts to serve the interests of others. A blessing is on the head of those who benefit the people.
And this verse isn’t limited to physical bread. How about the bread of life? Talk about something good that shouldn’t be kept to ourselves! How about the good news!
Don’t feast on the bread of life without sharing that with others! Don’t hold that back! Don’t hoard the gospel like a full pantry while others starve!
Share it! Share it! Share it!
If there’s anything worth sharing, it’s the gospel.
And if blessings come to the one who sells the grain that sustains life, how much greater is the privilege of the one who doesn’t sell the Bread of Life but freely shares it with non-believers!
We’ve been given something too good to keep to ourselves. So let’s take a moment to think about what that looks like in our lives.
How has the Lord gifted you, what good do you have, and are you sharing that with others, for the benefit of the people, or keeping it all to yourself – living in self-interest?
Knowing this verse talks about bread, who can you share the bread of life with today? Who can you let know about Jesus?
Let’s pray.
