Proverbs 27:18

Eat the fruit thereof. A fig tree may be made to produce an abundance of fruit, and he who cares for it should have the first opportunity to enjoy the bounty (2 Tim. 2:6). A good servant will be rewarded by his master with honor as well as the payment of wages (Matt. 25:21). This proverb may also point to the security enjoyed by the man who produces most of what he eats and wears. Such a man is comparatively unaffected by rising and falling prices or scarcity caused by strikes or manipulations of the market. For the labor and care that he bestows upon his crops he receives a direct reward (see MF1 188-193).