cross polination

Wednesday September 29th, 1 Timothy 6: 17 As for the rich in this present age, charge them not to be haughty, nor to set their hopes on the uncertainty of riches, but on God, who richly provides us with everything to enjoy. 18 They are to do good, to be rich in good works, to be generous and ready to share, 19 thus storing up treasure for themselves as a good foundation for the future, so that they may take hold of that which is truly life. It is when we turn from the obsession of getting ahead at all cost and focus our energies on living a good life that is steeped in loving God and loving others that we become rich. It is the foundation on which life for ourselves and life for our community can be built. Focus on foundation building in your life and you might be surprised at how well the rest of life comes along.

There once was a farmer who grew fantastic produce on his farm. When he brought the produce to town, everyone lined up to purchase his stuff which he often sold out early. His next door neighbor however did not grow such great crops, his produce was smaller and sometimes had hints of having been ravaged by diseases. The farmer who had the good crops and who had over the years developed an excellent seed base gave some of his seed crop away to his neighbor. When asked why he did such a thing he explained that as long as his neighbor had poor seed stock the cross pollination would continually degrade his seed stock. The best way for him to have consistently good produce was to help his neighbor have consistently good produce. The same holds true in life. Healthy neighborhoods help produce healthy children. When our focus is only in our own back yard, it is our children and our lives that are most in danger.