Here is what God was saying to Adam: "I am going to give you two things. By these two things, you will have your life sustained. Number one, I give you authority over everything in this earth; and number two, I give you seeding seed." The phrase, seeding seed, represents provision.
The Farmer's Best Seed
If you know anything about farming, you know that seeding seed to the farmer is seed that is kept back for planting. It's his best seed. When a crop comes in, the first thing the farmer does is to look over his crop and pick out the best part of it. He then takes that crop and stores it in his barn. That portion is not to be consumed by him or sold to the market. It is to be kept as seed for the next year's harvest.
The worst thing a farmer can do is to go through his cornfields, look at all the crop and put aside the poorest of it, saying, "This isn't very good, so I'll just stick it in the barn and plant it again next year." If he did that, what would happen? His crop would keep degenerating until it was absolutely useless. That would not be a provision for him.
The farm products we buy in the supermarket are never the best. The best was kept in the barn to be replanted the next year. That's the seeding seed. The farmer looks through his fields for the best and juiciest kernels of corn. That becomes his seeding seed.
Our Seeding Seed Is the Tithe
This is the reason God wants the tenth of our income off the top. That's our seeding seed.
Don't be spending your money on what you desire, saying, "If there's any left over, I'll give it to God."
By giving God only what is left, you wouldn't be presenting Him with your seeding seed. You would be giving Him some of that old "corn" that you weren't going to use anyway. After doing that, you can't be blaming God because you aren't getting the maximum results.
The Seed Must Be Planted
Notice what God did for Adam. First, He gave him authority; then He gave him seed. That's all God gave to Adam. And notice something else: God didn't plant Adam's seed for him; He expected Adam to do it. God was saying to him: "I am giving you authority, and I am giving you seed. The authority and the seed give you the ability to determine your own destiny based upon the seed that you sow. If you don't sow this seed, you will die."
Now it was not God's plan for Adam to die. If Adam ate that seed, he would have no provision. If he wasted the seed, he would have no provision. If all he did was to preserve the seed, he would have no provision.
When you have been given seed, there is only one way you will have provision: by planting that seed. When the harvest comes up, you are to take the best part of that harvest and set it aside. It becomes your seeding seed for the next year's provision. Then when harvesting the next year's crop, you put aside your seeding seed and replant it when ready. Every year of your life you will be getting results - God's best!
God established this principle, and that's the way He expects you to live. But remember, God is not going to plant your seed for you.
Excerpt permission granted by Harrison House Publishers