“He that tilleth his land shall be satisfied with bread: but he that followeth vain persons is void of understanding.”
(Proverbs 12:11)
Today I wish to present to us some things about home gardening. When I say home gardening through the eyes of God, I don’t mean to say we can see things the way God sees them as with his very eyes. Rather I mean to present to us home gardening as revealed in scriptures as the view of the Bible is the view of God. Surprisingly, contrary to what we often assume that the Bible is just a book about holiness, the Bible has a stance on almost each and everything in life, meaning we can see almost everything through the eyes of God, and gardening is one of them.
As the rainy season approaches, I wish to present few things to us about the royal hobby of gardening with the intent to spur us to imbibe the habit of planting and grow our own home garden.
Man’s First Habitat And Means Of Sustenance
“And the LORD God planted a garden eastward in Eden; and there he put the man whom he had formed.”
(Genesis 2:8)
First thing we see in the Bible after the creation is that God himself planted a garden and provided irrigation for it. And having done so he placed man to live in it and tend it. This informs us that God’s original intention for man was to live in a garden. So growing food away from home may be good, but home gardening is best and closest to what we are designed for.
Second thing we see is that the fruit of the garden were for man’s sustenance. I get surprised when I see people doing flower garden and still others who just grow shrubs and grasses to trim them. That seems weird to me. The garden of Eden was planted to be a source of food and sustenance for Adam and his wife. When going to Babylon, God was careful to instruct the Israelites saying, “Build ye houses, and dwell in them; and plant gardens, and eat the fruit of them.” (Jeremiah 29:5). Gardening is meant primarily for food not to make a goat’s paradise. To plant gardens that doesn’t yield fruits is synonymous with labouring in vain. May God not let us labour in vain. Amen.
Third thing is that the garden was meant to provide man food from his immediate surrounding. So he got his source of sustenance from home, not having to travel abroad. This informs us we ought to imbibe the habit of getting what we eat from close to home as much as we can and not to be buying things sourced from even other continents and has spent months on the seas and oceans before getting us.
Gardening: The Royal Hobby
“I [king Solomon] made me gardens and orchards, and I planted trees in them of all kind of fruits.”
(Ecclesiastes 2:5)
The idea of having to grow food seem to many to be very demeaning. Many consider growing food to be an evidence of excruciating penury where one can no longer afford to buy food and must resort to growing food himself. This is a great error, a prodigious aberration, a nocuously opprobrious intellection, and so must be corrected by all means. I really don’t know how this became a widely held opinion that growing your own food speaks of penury.
You know I laugh when I hear that gambling is the sport of kings. I don’t know where such a ridiculous statement came from. I’ve never read or heard of any king who was a gambler. Of course we know such statement only circulate amongst ridiculous people who spend their life in the ridiculous practice of gambling and wish to bring some merit to their shameful habits. So that is total ridiculousness.
What however is evidently the hobby of kings is planting of gardens. Growing food. Solomon planted gardens and made boast of it. Nebuchadnezzar, whose splendour and might, as I suppose, hasn’t been matched, built the Hanging Gardens which is one of the seven wonders of the world. As part of my self development, I did a diploma on landscaping, and there I found that kings and kingdoms used gardening as a show of splendour. Kings and emperors of China, Japan, Persia, Spain, England, France were all known for their great gardening projects, and their great and magnificent works were used for illustrations and examples all through the course. So gardening indeed is a royal hobby. We could go on and on mentioning magnificent kings of different ages and climes who executed wondrous gardening projects, showed it off, and competed with one another. They just love to plant and grow food.
I once followed a friend of mine to a mansion that was managed by the company he worked for and what I saw there was really amazing to me. When we went to the top of the building I saw all manner of plants planted by the occupants of the mansion. Then I saw a mesh and said to him that if they used such a mesh to grow tomatoes it’ll grow so well. I had not finished speaking when he pointed to another part of the balcony to where they planted tomatoes that was already flowering in the same type of mesh. Now these people were all working in World Bank. And everything about the building was luxurious and we don’t need to be told how well World Bank pays her staff, but they were growing food despite not having outdoor gardens. That was not a mark of penury. That was a mark of excellent minds at work.
So where did the thought that gardening is a mark of penury come from? If we hold such view, then we need to change our thinking. As a matter of fact going through scriptures, planting and harvesting is a mark of prosperity, peace, and being blessed of God. Not penury.
Gardening As A Virtue
“And beside this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge.”
(2 Peter 1:5)
Oya o, all the virtuous ladies in the house give yourself a round of applause. Look at them. Just look at them. I know that even those that should not be clapping would also be clapping. But no problem, clapping is allowed. In Proverbs 31, the Bible describes for us 
what the qualities of a virtuous woman is. Amongst many things mentioned there, it is written, “with the fruit of her hands she planteth a vineyard.” (Proverbs 31:16). I know you are all virtuous, but if in virtue you don’t plant a garden, that virtue is not enough. It is unvirtuous not to plant a garden and use it as a means of supporting your home.
So growing food is a virtue which we must both imbibe and, just as we teach children the virtue of being truthful and honest, we must also teach them the virtue of growing food.
Returning Power To The Family Unit
“Where the word of a king is, there is power.”
(Ecclesiastes 8:4)
“Moreover the profit of the earth is for all: the king himself is served by the field.”
(Ecclesiastes 5:9)
The society is failing in numerous ways. Amongst many things, food is grown in unhealthy ways with unhealthy substances. And despite all these failings we have become over reliant on others for everything. We rely on others for food, medical service, security, simple domestic tasks, raising of children, and even spiritual needs. The only time some people hear the words of the Bible is in church and from the pastor’s mouth. I believe that the family ought to exist as a unit and should be self sustaining to a very large extent. But the family has lost so much of its power.
In the wake of so many betrayals by those who have been trusted with the power to fend for us in certain ways, it becomes more imperative that our family units seek to regain the power it has relinquished. Betrayals of farmers using harmful substances and methods to grow food for gain. And worst of all the betrayal of medical practitioners. It was during the COVID time that I knew that medical practitioners don’t deserve the trust given to them at all. Everyone knew COVID was a sham, but they were the ones seeking to give credence to the sham just because they thought it was their time to make money. And that is just one of the many ways they sell their consciences for money’s sake. The only prominent doctor I know that spoke firmly against the sham called COVID was Dr. Rashid Ali Buttar.
A friend of mine used to tell me of how when they were young their mothers were the doctors of the house and they performed that role so well as doctors. They even treated broken bones. Go to the hospital today with a broken bone and wait for the bill they’ll bring. It is through the window you’d flee for your life and pocket with such a haste that you’d leave your shoes behind. You’d not bother going back through the door with which you came in. I remember when as a little boy I stepped on a nail, it was my mother who disinfected it with red oil and red hot knife. It was painful but it did the job.
This applies to many other areas of life. Families did exist with the ability to cater for certain levels of needs as a unit. Solution for many problems was found within the family.
The same applies to food. I read in the news that because of the war in Ukraine there’s likely going to be global food crises. This means because of Zelensky we, our families, and loved ones may starve. I know that is not likely and may just be a story to pursue some selfish interest and get money from IMF to embezzle. While Ukraine does export food it probably isn’t even enough to feed the crew in the ship by which they’re exported. But even though our sustenance does not rely on a country as far as Ukraine, it still is too far from home. That is not right. Our well being ought to rely on us as a family as much as possible, and not on others. The home really needs to exist as a self sustaining unit again. Ability to sustain ourselves as much as possible is great power which must be returned to the family unit.
I do not say we should be primarily focused on growing food as an occupation, but much food can be grown if we choose to only spend 10 to 20 minutes a day in our gardens. It could be that passive.
There are many things that we take for great power. In a democracy they say your PVC is your power. True, but we are over 200 million in Nigeria. If I had 200 million Naira and you stole 1 Naira, you’ve stollen absolutely nothing from me. If you really did your conscience shouldn’t prick you. But if it’s up to 20 Naira, your conscience should prick you and you should return it o. I know many would say 1 Naira is a lot of money for even the 200 million won’t be complete without the 1 Naira. Granted. But if you stole 1 Naira from my 200 million, you haven’t stollen anything all the same. So that is how the PVC of one person is in such a big country. However, the PVC is still power anyways, but it only gives you power to select a leader once every four years and no power in between.
Some people also say that ability to strike and protest is power, but I’ve seen many cases where people embarked on a strike against those who pay them and upon whom their sustenance is based, but when hunger began to set in they yielded in defeat, shame, and confusion. There is no power in there.
There are many other things people consider to be power, which may be power indeed but are yet overrated. Ability to be self sustaining is power. People may think that what I am saying about self sustenance is overrated, but you can make your findings on homesteaders to see it is so possible to be self sustaining to a large extent. Such a life will succour and secure you in hard times and make happy times happier. It is indeed great power.
Global Peace And Prosperity Depends On Us Producing Our Own Food
“… they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruninghooks: nation shall not lift up a sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more.”
(Micah 4:3)
There’s a part of the Bible that speaks about the peace that shall be upon the earth. It says, “And he shall judge among many people, and rebuke strong nations afar off; and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruninghooks: nation shall not lift up a sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more. But they shall sit every man under his vine and under his fig tree; and none shall make them afraid: for the mouth of the LORD of hosts hath spoken it.” (Micah 4:3 – 4). Note that one of the key characteristics of this peace is expressed in these words, “they shall sit every man under his vine and under his fig tree.” And also note that weapons of war were beaten into gardening instruments. So ability to grow one’s own food is key to world peace.
When men begin to grow their own food there’d be less reasons for fear which drive men to crimes of stealing. Imagine how much food would be produced if every spare square metre of land is able to produce food around our house. I’ve lived in a place where by government policies food was made to be very cheap, and I realised that the level of crime and desperation was almost nonexistent. And the level of contentment and simplicity of life was widespread. From there I saw the efficacy of abundance of food to the stability of a country, quality of life, and low crime rate. And this can be achieved easily by the self reliance that comes through home gardening.
The greatest theft is the theft by war. When we shall be wise enough to sustain ourselves so much that food becomes abundant, over time every desperation that leads to crime and godless conflicts shall cease. Home gardening would go a long way to easily improve the quality of life of people.
Safety From The End Time Persecution
“… no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name.”
(Revelation 13:17)
Lastly, as I’ve said in the beginning of the article that the end time during the reign of the beast was what spurred me on to work towards self sustenance, home gardening would give us safety from end time persecution to a very great extent. The key thing about the end time persecution is that men will neither be able to buy nor sell. What would happen to you if you can neither buy nor sell? Starve or recieve the mark of the beast. So ability to grow your own food, if the art be mastered, will keep you safe from the extremity that is able to bend you to do what shall damn your soul.
Sometimes try to see how well you can survive from day today without having to spend money. Can you cook without things you need to buy? I mean things including fuel. Spend money of course while you can, but put your self through the test sometimes and see where you need to improve in respect to absolute self reliance.
Conclusion
“He that tilleth his land shall have plenty of bread: but he that followeth after vain persons shall have poverty enough.”
(Proverbs 28:19)
It is good to have food enough, not poverty enough. Tilling the ground makes all the difference. Seeing the immense importance of home gardening, I’d like to encourage each reader to start gardening by all means, no matter how small your space. Grow in containers, vertically along a wall, on your window pane, and wheresoever possible.
May God help us and give us the fruit of our labour as we do our home gardens. Thank you and God bless you.
Prayer: Dear Lord and God, grant us the grace, wisdom, and understanding to see the import of growing our own food and tilling our grounds. And as we do this we also pray that in our souls you plant virtue’s root, and mature its glorious fruit. In Jesus’ name I ask it. Amen.
