Proverbs 11:17-19 RA We Eat The Fruit Of What We Sow

Proverbs 11:17 A man who is kind benefits himself, but a cruel man hurts himself. 18 The wicked earns deceptive wages, but one who sows righteousness gets a sure reward. 19 Whoever is steadfast in righteousness will live, but he who pursues evil will die. This is an interesting passage. First verse 17 states something about a kind man which he receives that he was not seeking. He was simply a kind man. He preformed a kind act toward another individual. It was not for his benefit… it was from the heart… not his old selfish heart but something new, made alive… he was not thinking about himself. He had compassion on someone… he reached out… He may have anonomously purchased the meal for the family in the car behind him in the drive through… He gave a ride to a weary traveler… He purchased gift cards for a needy family. Whatever it may be, this man was a kind soul… and it benefited all the people he was kind to… but somehow Solomon says it also benefited him. Solomon tells us that the cruel man hurts himself. Being a cruel soul his intentions were to be cruel to others. But similar to the kind man, his intentions for others would return upon himself. We find out a bit more about the wicked man; he does not give a days work for a days pay but will cheat and deceive to make his gains. Solomon then gives us the timeline of this wicked individual. He will spend his life running after and hunting down evil and guess what… in the end he will get what he sought out. A definition of evil so bleak he could not have imagined it. In his death he will be separated from all things good for eternity. Whoever is steadfast being made alive by the righteousness of Christ will live. That’s what it’s like for those who look to Jesus the promised Messiah as the only hope for their sins. He gives them great peace and joy, not only now but for eternity in his presence with all that is good.