Better is the poor who walks in his integrity Than he who is crooked though he be rich. Proverbs 28:6
Integrity and honor are character traits that are of high value in the kingdom of God. They make a person very wealthy even though at the time they may not have a fantastic financial bottom line. When someone is varying between two stances - which is what this passage called being "crooked," they can have all the money in the world and still be seen as far less successful than the poor man who lives a godly life. God's way of valuing things and people is far different than that of the world. The word "crooked" is very interesting. The literal Hebrew means, "perverse in two ways." What this describes is someone who is going back and forth between two opinions and two views. According to the Theological Wordbook of the OT this term refers to the twisted and perverting nature of sin. The word was also used to describe how a woman twists her hair for the purpose of putting it in braids. Thus the word came to mean the way that people twist their ways and choices contrary to what God commands and desires. The word is used to describe the way rulers "twist everything that is straight" (Micah 3:9). In a similar Proverb about the need for integrity, this same word is used to describe how fools are perverse in their speech. Too often the rich think they are beyond the law - or above it because of the influence their money buys in this world. I have several friends who are police officers who have told me again and again that they have far more trouble out of rich people they pull over for speeding than from any other group. They are told that they should give the rich person a warning or nothing at all because of all the people they know in City Hall. They try to throw their influence around to intimidate my friends in law enforcement into ignoring the law - or might we say perverting it. They want my friends to act crookedly. These guys write them tickets seeking to enforce the law - only to have them ignored by those in power when they come to court. Too many of the rich make the mistake of placing their hope in riches and what they provide in this world - rather than in God and the hope of His reward in eternity. I say this not to absolve the poor of integrity issues - because the problem is not money - it is the love of money. I've seen the love of money in every financial category there is. The warning here is to run after integrity and honor - and not allow money to make us think that these things don't matter as long as you are well off financially. Just an aside here for our mutual benefit. I've heard a saying again and again that grieves my heart. Here is the saying, "Money may not be able to make you happy, but it makes your misery much more bearable." Those who say that are truly deceived. They think that a few years of less miserable riches are worth trading for all of eternity. God does not countenance such foolishness. They are truly deceived because they do not understand that their momentary happiness in their wealth and stuff will actually make their judgment more severe. The Scriptures tell us, "To whom much is given, much is required." Whatever brief comfort they find in their things and their wealth will be infinitely offset by the searing judgment that awaits them for loving the world and therefore not having the love of the Father in them. Again - that was for free - because I'm tired of fools sounding wise to this world when they are only multiplying their foolishness for a judgment that awaits them at the throne of God. True wisdom is seeing the end, in this case eternity, and making sound decisions with God's ways in view. The poor man walks differently here because he walks in his integrity. The word "walk" is the Hebrew word "halak" which means to come and go, or to walk about. It was a word that was used to describe a flowing river, the blowing of the wind, and the movement of animals of all kinds. It was therefore used to metaphorically speak of the pathways of one's life - and came to mean the lifestyle that one chooses. This poor, wise man has chosen to walk out his life using God's wisdom as his guide. The best way to describe this integrity that the poor, wise man chooses is to walk with all of our heart in the things of the Lord. The word here for integrity was used to describe the way that men like David and Job spoke of walking with a perfect heart. This did not mean these men were sinless - just that they did not want to waver between two opinions and two ways of living. They wanted to live for the Lord with all their heart - all the time. There is something that God values greatly in this world. But what God values and what men value are two entirely different things. This world does not value living for God and His ways with a whole heart. They might give an honorable mention to the occasional religious person who they admire for a few moments because of their devotion to God, but they do not see this as a way of living for all men. They live for the things of the world - and chase after them with all their heart. But what is highly valued by men of this world is despised by the Lord. He is looking for men whose heart is completely given to Him. How much better it is to be one of these men - regardless of their financial bottom line. It is far better to be that kind of a man and poor - than to be the richest man on earth and only enjoy it for the mere length of a breath - which is how God describes this life in comparison with eternity.
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The rich rules over the poor, And the borrower becomes the lender's slave.
Proverbs 22:7 Proverbs is an interesting book in that it is presenting wisdom to us. But as we read it there are times when we struggle with what is being said. Here we read about how the rich rules over the poor - and we wonder about the wisdom of this statement. But before we make the fatal mistake of questioning an all-wise God, let's take a moment to look at this proverb without the liability of the class warfare that has too often been used to color our thinking about such things. The rich does rule over the poor. This is too the advantage of both if they are wise in how they conduct themselves. The rich often become that way because they have learned how to manage things and deal with them so that they are profitable. These sound like the kind of skills needed to be a leader. Solomon is saying that this is the case - that the ones who rule over others are usually those who have worked hard to accomplish something. Ones who have used their abilities to manage and accumulate wealth and influence. that influence naturally puts them in a position to exercise even greater influence over a larger and larger number of people. For those who are offended that the Bible speaks of the rich ruling over the poor also need to consider the things the Bible says to protect the poor. God has said numerous things to make it clear that He bring judgment upon the man who oppresses the poor. He warns the rich again and again not to put their hope in riches. He also warns about how riches can deceive a man and destroy him if he decides to pursue wealth about pursuing the things of God. God may say that the rich rules over the poor - but He does not in any way condone the rich abusing the poor. In fact, God promises that He will rise up to defend the poor and needy. The second thing we learn from this passage is the dangers and evils of living on borrowed money. We learn that the borrower becomes the lender's slave. When I read this statement I remember the rendition of a Disney song that goes, "I owe, I owe, so off to work I go." The borrower owns the lender - or at least he owns whatever was purchased with loans until they are completely paid off. Things become worse for the one who owes an exorbitant amount to the lender. More and more interest is charged the larger the amount - and the worker suddenly is working to pay off the interest without even touching the loan amount itself. Then the borrower becomes the lender's slave. He will never get out of debt and spends a lifetime paying for something he will never own. When I read this particular proverb I fear for our nation. We are no longer a lender nation - but a debtor one. Our leadership on both sides of the aisle have mortgaged our future trying to buy our votes. The sick reality of our situation is that they've bought our votes promising things they've bought with our money as they enact more and more confiscatory tax policies. Thus we've been bought using our own money - and those who have used it have done so to further enslave us to government programs and promises to save us. In the end, this house of cards will come crashing to the ground. Our greed to become rich with loans will come home to roost as our currency and our economy become worthless. The wise man does not seek riches through becoming a lender's slave. Instead he uses industry, sacrifice, and saving to purchase what he wants - and greater wisdom to have what he has saved be used to increase his ability to earn more. And if he is truly wise, he will use the wealth God has given him the ability to earn to bless others. He will not allow riches to use him, he will use riches to bring glory to God. All the brothers of a poor man hate him; How much more do his friends abandon him! He pursues them with words, but they are gone. Proverbs 19:7
Fair weather friends . . . what are they. The phrase comes from the idea of those who will be with you while the weather is good, meaning that everything is good in your life and you have no problems. But let a storm come into your life - and they abandon you in the midst of it. They are fair weather friends who only want friends who have no problems or needs. That is what our passage in Proverbs addresses today. The brothers of a poor man hate him. The word poor here means to be a person who has very few resources and no standing or influence in society. When a man is poor - and has nothing of this world's goods or things to offer - he is not embraced by very many. Here we read that even his brothers want nothing to do with him. They don't want a "nobody" as their brother or their friend. Those who think this way miss the reality that the poor are rich in faith - a fact they would not have overlooked if they know the Scriptures. The poor and those lacking in power and influence have not fared well over the ages. They are overlooked and under appreciated. Not only does the poor man's brothers hate him - but his friends abandon him. These are the fair weather friends mentioned at the opening of this post. Friends are not to be chosen on the basis of how much money and influence they bring to the table. Unfortunately, that is how men think in the world - and honestly - more than occasionally in the church. The mindset of, "What can you do for me," permeates the choice of friends. A lack of value on things like wisdom and godliness - only add to this bad habit. Though the poor man puruses these fair weather friends with words, they are gone. The idea here is that they just disappear. It is not magic at work - it is just greed and human stupidity. This is truly the saddest when a person plunges into poverty due to problems, sickness, or injury. It is amazing how a series of problems when they come separate your true friends from those who only want something from you. The poor are also abandoned in places of power and influence. This is especially true in the courtroom. Being poor does not exempt you from obeying the laws of our land - but often it means you do not have the kind of representation that money can buy. As a result, the poor often feel jilted by our system of justice because of how the rich can use their money to obtain a better result. There is one place though where the poor can receive justice - they can receive compassion and mercy. That is at the throne of Almighty God. The Bible instructs us that God is not a respecter of persons. It does not matter what you have or don't have. God's justice is blind to those things - and is focused on the truth. He warned His judges not to take bribes from the rich to pervert justice. He also said that He gives grace to the poor - and that the poor and the rich are alike to Him. When the world turns its back on the poor - the Lord will not abandon him. If ever there were a case where money could buy influence it would have been with the rich man and Lazarus. But the lesson we learn from that story is that God metes out justice and mercy with exacting perfection. The rich man was held accountable for his riches and lack of mercy - while the poor man was shown mercy, having faced great difficulties in life. Both will be held to a judgment based on their sins and whether they have been justified by faith - looking to the Messiah as the One who has paid for their sins and given them a standing of righteousness before God. Though a poor man may not have a friend or a brother who will stand with him in this life, if he knows the Lord Jesus Christ . . . he has a friend who sticks closer than a brother. There is one who pretends to be rich, but has nothing; Another pretends to be poor, but has great wealth. Proverbs 13:7
Here is one of the stranger verses in all of Proverbs. Here we see two different people - one pretending to be rich, yet having nothing, and another pretending poverty, yet rich. Are we dealing with hypocrisy in these two individuals, or are we dealing rather with something else? The word "pretend" here is very important to understand. The actual statement made here is that one is "making himself rich" and it refers to someone who spends all their time pursuing and running after being wealthy. The opposite saying here makes it clear that another pursues poverty - or pursues being poor. The idea is not of hypocrisy, but rather what they are pursuing in life. One pursues riches and the other poverty. Therefore what we have here is a commentary on the true state of these two individuals. First we have the man who is pursuing riches. What seems to be said here is that he not only pursues wealth, but he is achieiving it as well. He is making himself rich. The problem here is that God's commentary on this man is that this man has nothing. His bank account would militate against this statement, but a man's earthly bank account does not measure true wealth in the sight of God. There are other far more important measurements that truly let us know of a man's worth and value. The New Testament warns against wealth, telling us that when we fix our hearts upon wealth, that it sprouts wings and flies away. We read that those who pursue wealth and love it - will have problems, being pierced through with many a desire. Jesus speaks of the rich farmer as a fool because he focuses only on his wealth and not on the fact that his soul is going to be required of him the very night he thinks he has "made it" in this world. Biblically, a rich man who is centered on his riches has nothing. So, what we learn from this proverb is that it is the fool who is so focused on his riches. The rest of the proverb is equally as instructive to us. We learn that another man pursues poverty, yet he has great riches. How does a man "pursue poverty"? The answer to that statement is found in the beattitudes of Jesus. Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. We pursue poverty by pursuing the truth of our own spiritual condition before God. The truth about our condition is that we are bankrupt spiritually. We have nothing of any real value - because we are in our sins and under the wrath of God. When we make ourselves poor - and embrace our spiritual poverty - coming to Jesus Christ for the only true riches - then we do have great riches. We receive that wonderful acrostic of GRACE - God's Riches At Christ's Expense. A truly wise man does not pursue the riches of this world. He knows that they are only temporary. They are like the grass of the field that is here today and thrown into the furnace tomorrow. He knows that the grass fades and the flower of this world falls off - but that the Word of our Lord abides forever. The wise man knows that a man's soul is costly, and that the price for it cannot be paid in the currency of this present world. The only currency acceptable in the sight of God is the blood of Christ shed for our sins. Thus the truly wise man seeks after Christ - receives His grace - and lives to be poor in this world's estimation, while pursuing the true riches that last for eternity. A sated man loathes honey, But to a famished man any bitter thing is sweet. Proverbs 27:7
This proverb is about much more than just when a person likes and dislikes honey. It is about hunger - first physical hunger as the physical meaning suggests - but it is about much more than just physical hunger. It is about how we walk through life - about worldliness and about knowing and walking with God. The physical picture painted for us is very clear. When a man is sated he loathes honey. To be sated means that you are stuffed. This is like when you have eaten too much at a meal and you are miserable. It wouldn't matter what someone offered you - you would not want any part of it. This is why the man loathes something as sweet and enjoyable as honey. He is too stuffed with food to enjoy anything. The opposite is also true though. A famished man considers any bitter thing sweet. The famished man is truly hungry. He has not eaten all day long - and as a result he is ready to eat anything. Even something which others might consider bitter is sweet to him. He will take it up and eat it grateful for anything to help him with his hunger. Beyond the physical picture shown to us are great spiritual truths for us to glean. A man sated with the world will look at the Word of God and loathe it. He is filled up with the daintes of the world and as a result has little or no spiritual hunger. 1 John tells us that everything in the world, the lust of the eyes, the lust of the flesh, and the boastful pride of life comes not from the Father, but from the world. When we fill our hearts and souls with whatever our eyes desire, whatever our flesh demands, and with a heaping helping of boasting in this life - we will not have any desire for the Word, which is sweeter than the honey or the honey comb. The glories of God and what He has in store for us seem like nothing when we are glutted with worldliness and selfish pursuits. This is why it is so hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven. He is so filled with what "this world" has to offer - that often he has no room left for the things of God. We need to see the danger of feasting on the world, the flesh, and the fast food of the devil. When we do - we will despise and loathe the things of our Lord. Then there is the famished man. The man who knows that the things of this world and this life are temporary. They are fleeting pleasures - what the Bible calls lying desires. They lie to us because they constantly promise fulfillment - but in the end they do not satisfy. They don't provide contentment - they do just the opposite. They eye is never filled with seeing - the flesh is never satisfied with food - and when we set our sights on wealth and riches, they take flight and soar to the heavens, always just a little beyond our ever grasping hands. Knowing these things - he seeks God for his "daily" bread - and asks not for riches. He knows that often the man with them forgets his God. Thus he wants something more. He has heard of this One Whose Spirit within is like a spring that rises up to heaven and salvation itself. He has heard of One Whose bread of life actually fills. He seeks the One Who offers rivers of living water - not a river outside of himself - but one that God puts within that overflows out of him to bless others. He is a famished man when it comes to worldliness and sin. He is a famished man when it comes to the religion of the eyes and flesh. He knows that boasting in this life provides him nothing in the end. Therefore he hungers and thirsts after God. He has heard from One that blessed is he that hungers and thirsts for righteousness, for he will be satisfied. This hunger makes it to where any bitter thing is sweet to him. Where the worldling is constantly receiving but is never satisfied, this one receives everything from the hand of God - good and bad - and it all works together for good in his heart and life. Whereas the worldling ever complains that it is just not enough - the spiritually hungry one has eaten of contentment itself in the presence of God. Having his spirit filled to overflowing - he knows that all that God allows in his life (whether sweet or bitter) is working on his behalf. He even knows that the light and momentary discomforts, disappointments, disconcerting events - are working toward an eternal weight of glory that cannot be ascertained. God is at work in this famished man's heart - thus any way that God's providence and sovereignty designs his circumstances are going to be satisfying for eternity. When you look at this proverb - and the truth that it represents - you come away with the paradox of God's work in this world. The filled go away hungry - while the hungry are deeply satisfied. The difference between seeking this world - and the world to come - is the difference between knowing contentment and fulfillment in hunger - or just walking through life empty even though you are sated with the world and all it offers. Truly, blessed are the poor and destitute in spirit - for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. He who mocks the poor taunts his Maker; He who rejoices at calamity will not go unpunished. Proverbs 17:5
So tell me . . . how smart would it be to taunt and mock God to His face? No? Yeah, I don't think it is too smart either. In fact I would say that doing this is about as smart as playing chicken with a Mack truck while riding a tricycle. Therefore, I think it would be wise to heed what Proverbs 17 tells us today. Mocking the poor is not a smart thing to do. God says some pretty interesting things about His care and His graciousness to the poor. He does not take it very well when we decide to mock someone He loves. In fact, what Solomon tells us is that it is like taunting God to His face to mock and make fun of the poor. What He wants us to do is to love the poor and try to lift them up with acts of kindness and mercy. Now, if you are looking to be smacked down for your foolishness - go ahead - mock the poor. The second thing we are told is not to rejoice at the calamity of someone else. The Lord does not look to this too favorably either. God is the One who brings calamity into people's lives for His purposes. By the way, His purposes are gracious and loving - even though there has to be discipline administered to people. God does not rejoice in seeing people have a difficult time in life. He allows and plans these things for His ultimate purposes. He allows these things to happen because He loves us - and wants us to learn from them. But when we look at another's calamity and rejoice over it, it greatly displeases the Lord. Remember this for a moment next time you want to mock at another's calamity . . . One day calamity will come upon you as well. No one escapes problems and difficulties. So, we are far better served by observing calamity and remembering that difficulties will come to us as well. May God give us grace to pray for others - love them - and work side by side with them to get through difficult times. The poor and those in distress will always be with us as long as this world is in its fallen state. May we use our interactions with them to learn greater character and godliness in our own lives. Then maybe the Lord will be gracious to us and send us someone to comfort us if troubles ever come to our own lives. Poor is he who works with a negligent hand, But the hand of the diligent makes rich. Proverbs 10:4
Work . . . to some this is a dirty word. Biblically it might be helpful to know that work existed BEFORE the fall. God always intended for us to work. The fall just ensured that this work would be much harder due to mankind's sin. But work is good. When we do not want to work - that is bad. There are those who work with a "negligent hand." These are those who treacherous in their work. They are deceitful in what they do. They may look to others like their are working, but therein lies the deceit. They actually are NOT working - at least not with a steadfastness and dedication to what they are doing. They are lazy, slothful and lack any kind of diligence. This word is also used to speak of those who have a loose character and are slack in far more than just their work. Their lifestyle is slack - their morals are slack - everything they do is slack. The Word tells us here in Proverbs that those who work like this will become poor. Think about this for a moment. Consider all the automobile recalls and problems we've seen in recent years. These are due to a slack-ness somewhere along the line. It may have been an engineer who was slack in his calculations and who took shortcuts in designing parts and systems. It may have been an assembly line worker who just slacked off over time in what they were doing. It may have been management who decided that their bottom line meant everything - and cut quality to the level that they could no longer put out quality parts. Whatever it was - slack work cost the company millions. The diligent though, are made rich. They may not always have the greatest profit margins - but they do what they do with quality always. Thus their works come back upon them - and as a result of their attention to detail - their godly work ethic - and their desire to glorify God in all that they do - they are rewarded. Work ethic unfortunately is something that we no longer focus upon in our nation as we should. The quick money stories have so much more traction to us. We don't want to hear that slow and stead wins the race. We don't want to hear that a lifetime of wealth and riches come usually from a lifetime of hard work and diligent effort. The lack of such things are costing us more than we realize. A poor man who oppresses the lowly Is like a driving rain which leaves no food. Proverbs 28:3
We have all heard stories of the oppressive who are rich. God condemns this kind of behavior. But when a poor man does the same - it is an even greater sin because the poor man should know better being among the lowly himself. Proverbs describes this man as a driving rain which leaves no food. The rain described here is one that is a deluge - a true drenching storm. It is described as being a "driving" rain. The word here means something that sweeps things away. It is rain that is so heavy and strong that it literally washes all the crops in an entire field away. It leaves nothing behind, completely destroying all that is in its path. The poor man who oppresses the lowly is best described in the parable of the debtors. Matthew 18 tells this parable of two men who owed money. One owed millions to the king - and there was no way of paying it back - even in a hundred lifetimes. When the king pronounced judgment upon him for his debt, the poor man begged for mercy. The king then acted with unimaginable mercy - forgiving the man every penny of his debt. It is one of the most poignent displays of mercy in all of Sripture. But what did the poor man do with this mercy and newfound freedom. The Word tells us that he went out and found a fellow lowly servant who owed him about 50 to 100 dollars. The fellow servant begged too for mercy - and asked for a little time. He promised to pay it all back. But the forgiven servant then grabbed the other by the throat and cast him into the prison till he was paid all that was owed to him. Indeed, this was a case where the poor was oppressing the lowly. When the other servants heard of this, they informed the king - who then called the poor oppressor to account. He was told that having received mercy - he should have shown it to others. Having been forgiven, he should have forgiven others. The end of the oppressing servant was to be thrown into prison and handed over to the torturers until every cent was repaid of his debt. This proverb does speak to us about the need for reciprocity in showing mercy. If we are the poor - we of all people should have great patience with the por who are around us. To oppress them is like being a driving rain that washes away everything. If there cannot be mutual grace among the lowliest of people, what is left. But there is a greater reminder given to us here. It is the reminder of the spiritual lesson before us. Just like the poor man in the parable, we need to forgive as we have been forgiven. We are the poor in spirit - the spiritually devastated and bankrupt. God has shown us astounding mercy in forgiving our sins and giving us His unmerited favor. Oh, how we should be ready to show that same mercy and grace to others - the ones around us just as poor, just as spiritually bankrupt - as an example of our Father's love. To do otherwise is to be a driving rain that leaves nothing behind. It is to offer no hope of forgiveness and grace among the lost. Our message is also to be our example. By God's grace - when we show grace - we will verify grace - thus offering grace to those who need grace. Don't be a driving hurricane that leaves nothing behind - be a gentle rain that waters so that fruit can be borne to God - fruit that will last - and thus our Father will be glorified. The rich and the poor have a common bond, The LORD is the maker of them all. Proverbs 22:2
There are many inequities in this world. One of them is the difference between the rich and the poor. These differences can drive people to the point of revolution and violence. There are entire political and economic ideologies formulated to try to bring some kind of balance to this situation. They want to create an equity between men that is enforced. But these ideologies will never work because of the fallen state of man. Communism was one of these ideologies that tried to bring equity among men. The problem was that while communism sounded good to many in theory - in the end it only bred a ruling class of rich oligarchs and a class of serfs who did the work of the state in a common poverty. If it were possible for sinful man to mutually share all things - including the work to produce them - we might be able to create a paradise here on earth. As long as the fallen, sinful state of man continues though - all these wonderful and fanciful concepts will break down as selfishness and self-centered living will take over. In the end, we will wind up with the rich and the poor once again. One of the most maddening inequities of the difference between the rich and poor is the whole practice of justice among them. Our own justice system has a statue that supposedly represents what our ideal is. That is a woman with a pair of scales who is blindfolded. The picture represents that justice is blind to differences in those who come to receive it. True justice is this way - but unfortunately all human systems will eventually break down due, once again, to the innate selfishness of mankind. Thus we have the problem of how the rich are represented at the bar of justice. If you have money - lots of money - you will fare better in our justice system. If you are dirt poor - and to be honest - black or a minority - often you will have a more difficult time in our justice system. To those who would argue against this by saying that more of these people commit crime, I would respond by saying that poverty itself often breeds crime. So, how do we bring a sense of justice to all this? Are we forever to face inequities between the rich and the poor? Is there no place where the rich and poor are treated alike? This proverb - written by a very rich man - gives us God's answer. Before God all men are viewed the same. There is a statement of doctrine which says, "God is no respecter of persons." If God is Who the Bible says He is, then this is comforting to those who cringe at the basic inequities of this world. Being infinite and eternal - needing nothing and possessing everything there is - being all wise and having infinite understanding - being perfect and beyond any kind of corruption - we can trust Him. Also, if He already owns all things - who, praytell is going to impress Him or offer any kind of bribe or influence that would affect Him at all? At this juncture I must make a differentiation between God Himself and how His church has conducted herself. Shamefully, the churches' history is replete with examples of bribery and influence peddling. James warned us in the New Testament that there would be the evil of favoring the rich and dishonoring the poor just because they were rich or poor. The Old Testament prophets thundered God's judgments against those who dishonored the poor while catering to the rich. But do not equate to God Himself the poor example that His children - or those who claim to be His children offer. Take God at His Word. This proverb tells us that the rich and poor meet together at one place. This is what that common bond is (The literal Hebrew here means "to meet at a common place). They both meet before almighty God as His creation. The Lord is the maker of them all. I realize that many in this world will scoff at the thought of a creator God. But I would propose that you think about something if you want equity in the world. If all that there is came about through evolutionary processes - what basis is there for equity in the world. One of the fundamental principles of evolution is survival of the fittest. This means the strong survive and the weak are weeded out. If this is the case and is a principle upon which the survival of our species exists - then we shouldn't want equity for the poor. We should cheer the rich and their ability to maintain power and control. There is NO basis for any kind of selfless morality in evolution. There is only the fight to continue the species. So, if the poor gets in your way - evolutionary theory says to crush them because they will only weaken the species. This is what animated Adolf Hitler, Stalin, Pol Pot and any other horrific leader who took evolutionary thought to its logical conclusion. Those who propose some kind of equity in the world from it - are being utterly contradictory to their own theory of origin. Let's return back to the proverb now. What is the place where rich and poor meet together? They meet at the point where God is maker of all. Both Judaism and Christianity teach that the point of ultimate equity is the throne of God. All men will stand here - and all will receive the justice due them for their actions. When we look at this biblical reality - it is a powerful motivator to use one's riches in a way that does not simply energize our innate selfishness. Your 70 or so years here on earth will yield you an eternity that will truly manifest true equity. Some will ignore this - and continue on their selfish path - but that path will only lead to destruction. True, the person may amass a fortune that impresses men - even impressing judges and rulers. But - God is unfazed by any amount of wealth that can ever be amassed by any individual, corporation, or nation-state. He continues to call us to obedience to His moral code. In the end - without any of the advantages of wealth, power, or human influence - both the rich and poor will come before their maker. They will be judged according to His standards - and will receive an ultimate future according to their deeds - according to the results of their actions. Solomon wrote in his farewell address, the book of Ecclesiastes, of the inequity of rich and poor. He said that often in the place of justice there is inequity and corruption. He also spoke of the transitory nature of riches - and how they too often deceive their possessors of ultimate reality - that they will face true justice in the end. He closed that last teaching with this statement. "The conclusion, when all has been heard, is: fear God and keep His commandments, because this applies to every person. For God will bring every act to judgment, everything which is hidden, whether it is good or evil." (Ecclesiastes 12:13-14) Sounds to me like the richest man on earth, who, inspired by the Holy Spirit, wrote these very words about the place where rich and poor ultimately meet for justice - knew very well that place. He knew that the justice due all men - regardless of their financial bottom line - lay at the feet of their Creator. We would do well to remember this in all our dealings - both financial and moral. Wealth adds many friends, But a poor man is separated from his friend. Proverbs 19:4
There are proverbs that God gives us that are just statements of truth. They are not meant to be approving of what is said - just a simple statement of what will be true in this fallen world. What we learn from them is often discerned as we seek the Lord. Today's proverb is one of these. Wealth adds many friends. What a loaded statement. When a man is wealthy he has many friends. Ask anyone who has ever won a lot of money - they will tell you that suddenly friends come out of the woodwork. Watch the rich and famous sports figure - he has an entourage of friends who follow him and do his bidding wherever he goes. The word used for friend in the Hebrew is a very general word which can mean anything from a close friend or lover - to someone who is only an aquaintance. For the wealthy man, the trick is to know which is which. He will have those who become his friend because he is rich and the know they will live well when around him. These are the sycophants and human leaches of society. They are around when you are doing well and when gifts flow freely. When this flow stops - or the promise of some payback no longer is there - they are gone. The second half of this proverb is telling. A poor man is separated from his friend. The word for poor man here is very interesting. It is the Hebrew word, "dal," which means to be poor or weak. these are people who are on the opposite social scale from the rich. The emphasis here is on their poverty and their weakness. Keil and Delitzsch describe this word as meaning reduced, or as "one who has fallen into a tottering condition, who has no resources, and who possesses no means. This man is in the process of being reduced. He may have had wealth - or at least enough - but due to his circumstances and problems he is now being reduced. His condition has become one of a tottering man who is in the process of going down - of falling. This is the man who is separated from his friend. Unfortunately he has fair-weather friends who are around for the ride - who are a friend because of what they "get" from the relationship. Once things start going down - this kind of friend makes himself or herself scarce. This is a lousy friend - and we are being warned here that such friends exist in our world. What we should learn from this passage is that friends come and go - at least some friends do. The true friend is the one who sticks around even when we are being "reduced." Scripture tells us that there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother. There are those who stay with us even when we are at our lowest and most vulnerable. If you have a friend like this - thank God for him or her - because such friends are not abundant in a fallen world where most are more concerned about themselves than about those around them. Lastly, we should realize that Christ is the ultimate friend. We were absolutely reduced by sin and by our fallen nature. There was NOTHING attractive or alluring about us in God's sight - yet the Lord loved us. We read in Romans 5:8 that "God demonstrated His own love for us in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us." Christ is our absolute friend. He loved us while we were in rebellion against Him. In this world we will have friends that disappoint us. But take heart because in the Lord Jesus Christ you have a friend that will never leave you or forsake you. When you have no other friend to turn to - you are still not alone - turn to Him for comfort and for encouragement. He will always be there regardless of whether you are rich . . . or reduced. |
Proverb a DayEach day, we'll take a look at a verse from the chapter of Proverbs for the day. Our hope is to gain wisdom each day - and from that wisdom - to have understanding to make godly decisions in the throes of everyday life. Thank you for visiting our website! Everything on this site is offered for free. If, however, you would like to make a donation to help pay for its continued presence on the internet, you can do that by clicking here. The only thing we ask is that you give first to the local church you attend. Thank you!
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