September 26, Proverbs 22
The rich and the poor meet together; the LORD is the maker of them all. - Proverbs 22:2
Proverbs shows how similar we are to the people who lived in Solomon’s time. As individuals and as a society, we haven't changed much at all in 3,000 years, despite our modern way of life.
Here’s an example. We still have poor folks among us, just as they did back then. We (by the grace of God) have been entrusted with more material wealth than some of our peers. And we still have the same thoughts about and behaviors about poor folks that people had back in the days of Solomon. Some proverbs in this chapter remind us of God's wisdom to guide his people in how we treat the poor.
Verse 9 says, "Whoever has a bountiful eye will be blessed, for he shares his bread with the poor." I believe this is true here and now in this life and world. But I also know (because Jesus told us) that he welcomes his people who have been generous with the poor. As they entered their eternal reward, Jesus explained that he accepted the kindness they showed to needy people along their path as if it had been done to him personally, even though they didn’t realize it. It was as if Jesus was in disguise, posing as a homeless person in need. (See Matthew 25:34-40.)
Some verses in our chapter warn us not to oppress or take advantage of the poor. “Whoever oppresses the poor to increase his own wealth, or give to the rich, will only come to poverty” (verse 16). Also, “Do not rob the poor, because he is poor or crush the afflicted at the gate” (verse 22). God has always called his covenant people to show kindness and consideration for poor, disadvantaged people. He commands us to care for widows, orphans and disabled people. When we do, we reflect God’s love and generosity to us toward others. We glorify God and bless the recipients and ourselves when we do what he says. Back in Matthew 25, the people who refused to help the poor didn’t recognize Jesus in his disguise, either. He took their mistreatment of the poor personally, as if they had treated him unkindly. He sent them into a terrible place of eternal punishment and death instead of welcoming them to eternal life and reward. The story isn’t about works righteousness. It’s about how our faith and devotion to Jesus should shape how we treat poor people among us.
Finally, we're back to the place where we started with our text, in verse 2: "The rich and the poor meet together; the LORD is the maker of them all." Here is the essence of why we should be careful to treat the poor with dignity and respect, not with disdain and neglect. We may have more. We may live in much nice clothes and wear much finer clothes. We may eat better food and in one hundred other ways be different. But with all the externals of material possessions stripped away, this verse reminds us that people poorer than us (and richer than us as well) were all made by God. We need to remind ourselves of that when we are tempted to treat a poor person with contempt. Poor people among us give us opportunities to show the love of Christ. Remember that God's generosity and grace has given you what you have. Pray for a wise and compassionate heart to guide you as you consider people in need.
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And if you have a little more time today, here’s a bonus thought…
Proverbs 22 Bonus Material
Americans are more in debt as individuals and as a nation than ever before in our history. Perhaps it would be good for us all to heed a wise warning about debt.
Because we live in a material world, people with more material things than others have an opportunity to help folks with less. Their wealth may also give the wealthy an advantage over the needy. That's the idea in verse 7: “The rich rules over the poor, and the borrower is the slave of the lender." Creditors loan some of their wealth to people who become their debtors. In doing so, they gain power over the ones who borrowed from them.
Credit allows us to enjoy nice things like houses and cars and pay for them over time. Most of us couldn’t afford a house without a mortgage. But we should understand that signing a loan essentially mortgages a portion of our future labor to the person or business who holds the note. We have to work to earn money to repay that loan. Instead of working to build our own wealth, we are replenishing the resource we borrowed. This verse warns us, “Be careful about credit.” Some folks live beyond their means by borrowing more than they can afford to repay. Then they learn that trying to live like a king on a peasant's wages will make us servants, not kings.
When you run out of your own money and start spending borrowed money, remember that you are in danger of signing yourself into poverty and slavery. Those little plastic cards and “easy credit terms” will enslave you unless you're extremely careful. People who don't see themselves as poor may find themselves destitute when their creditor-master demands payment.
Today in God's Word—September 2024
East Tallassee Church of Christ
Copyright © 2021 by Michael B. McElroy. Used
by permission. All rights reserved.
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