"He that withholdeth corn, the people shall curse him: but blessing shall be upon the head of him that selleth it." Proverbs 11:26

At first glance, this seems like an out dated proverb that doesn’t make a lot of sense. However, if we ask a few questions and look at the culture to which it was written, we will find that it speaks right to our hearts and lives. The first question that comes to mind is “Why would someone not sell corn?” In the life and times of the writer, famine was a common experience. The people might have a bad year with their crops, and unless they had the means to store up food in advance, they would literally have no food. People would beg and starve to death due to a lack of resources. In those times of famine, there might be someone who had some kind of grain in which they could sell to others and provide them with food. However, if they held on to it for a little while, and let the people get desperate, they could sell it for a much higher price.