Proverbs 11:26 (Mini Sermon)

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26. Pro 11:26 – "He that withholdeth corn, the people shall curse him: but blessing shall be upon the head of him that selleth it." A. He that withholdeth corn, the people shall curse him: i. Definitions a. Withhold v. – 1. trans. To keep from doing something; to keep in check or under restraint; to hold back, restrain. 2. To keep back; to keep in one's possession (what belongs to, is due to, or is desired by another); to refrain from giving, granting, or allowing. b. Curse v. – 1. trans. To utter against (persons or things) words which consign, or are intended or supposed to consign, them to evil spiritual or temporal, as the wrath of God or the malignity of fate; to damn. 2. Hence (without implication of the effect): To imprecate or invoke divine vengeance or evil fate upon; to denounce with adjuration of the divine name; to pour maledictions upon; to swear at. c. In other words, a man that keeps back food, or something else that is needed by others, which they are willing to pay for will be verbally damned by them. ii. Decent people don’t expect a man to give them of his substance when they are in need, but most people do expect him to sell them what they need if he is in a position to do so. a. We should not withhold good from those to whom it is due when it is in our power to do so (Pro 3:27-28). b. We should do good to all men as we have opportunity, and especially so to the brethren (Gal 6:10). c. Selling people things they need, especially food, is good that we should not withhold. d. To have more than enough of an item or commodity than one needs and then to refuse to sell some of it to someone who truly needs it is to exhibit covetousness and greed. iii. We should remember the golden rule when it comes to selling people things they need when we have enough for ourselves (Mat 7:12; Luk 6:31; Rom 13:9; Jam 2:8). iv. If we don’t, we will be cursed by men, and rightly so. B. but blessing shall be upon the head of him that selleth it. i. Definitions a. Blessing n. – 1. a. Hallowing, consecration. Obs. 3. a. The bestowal of divine favour and prospering influence; favour and prospering influence of God. 4. a. A beneficent gift of God, nature, etc.; anything that makes happy or prosperous; a boon. b. Sell v. – 1. trans. To give, in various senses; esp. to hand over (something, esp. food, a gift) voluntarily or in response to a demand or request… 3. (The chief current sense.) a. To give up or hand over (something) to another person for money (or something that is reckoned as money); esp. to dispose of (merchandise, possessions, etc.) to a buyer for a price; to vend. c. In other words, he who voluntarily gives up food, or other things in his possession which people are in need of, for a fair price will be made happy and prosperous by them. ii. Those that are ready to perish due to lack of food will bless the righteous man who sells them some (Job 29:13). iii. Joseph was blessed by both God and man for selling the people corn in time of famine (Gen 41:47-49, 53-57). iv. Even so-called price-gougers who sell necessary goods that are in short supply for high prices should be blessed by wise men. v. If it were not for price-gougers, people who are truly in need of something would go without, and people that are not truly in need will have more than they need. a. Hotels (i) For instance, a hotel owner who doubles his prices during a large sporting event in a city actually does those a favor who are desperate for a place to stay. (ii) Because of “price gouging,” a family of six that came into town for the game might only buy one room instead of two rooms; and then they will make all the kids share a bed or sleep on the floor which will free up a room for a man whose car broke down while traveling through town. (iii) If it were not for the “price-gouger,” the unfortunate man would have nowhere to stay. b. Water in a natural disaster (i) A “price gouger” who sells a bottle of water for $10 after a hurricane is nearly universally condemned by the public. (ii) But what they fail to realize is that by doing so, he is helping those who are in the most need. (iii) If he sold bottles of water for $1 each, a ton of people would buy way more than they need, causing a shortage, and therefore someone who really needs it to survive will have none at any price. (iv) By charging high prices, the “price-gouger” causes people to economize and conserve scarce resources. (v) Furthermore, but “price-gouging,” the seller inadvertently gives merchants from surrounding states the financial incentive to bring in bottled water from afar which has the effect of increasing supply and bringing the price back down. c. Rental cars (i) Another example would be a rental car company that charges very high rates to rent a car at the airport at the last minute. (ii) By doing so, residents that live in the area can shop around the city to find a better deal which frees up a car for a poor traveler whose flight was cancelled and needed to rent a car to drive home. d. Thank God for price-gougers! Bless them when you have the opportunity.