“A poor man who oppresses the poor is a beating rain that leaves no food.” Proverbs 28:3
Devotional Thought For The Day
The concern here seems incongruous and rare, until we think about it a bit and look around more carefully. That a “poor man” would be in a position to “oppress” anyone means that he has ascended to some position of authority or prominence, perhaps elevated to such by a prince. In our time this would more likely be by an employer. While poor and powerless he may have had greater compassion for the poor, and no means to oppress anyone. However, once lifted out of such circumstances, and suddenly having means, he becomes insufferable toward the poor – the kind of nightmare to them that a flooding and devastating rain poses. Jesus told a parable about such a man, which we would do well to deeply internalize [Matt. 18:23ff]. It had to do principally with forgiving others in gratitude for God’s forgiveness – the hypocritical and unloving withholding of which is the same as oppressing the poor and denuding them of the means of survival, wishing and promoting their death. Obviously, the act of oppressing those in dire and desperate need is completely contrary to all faith and decency – a denial of the Creator’s love for all people, a denial of the Creator’s provisioning of all our needs, a denial of faith in God’s love, which unleashes the power of God’s love in one’s heart, which alone enables us to love. It is a sign of unbelief and utter spiritual death, of a compulsion to reject God and spend eternity in hell.
Sociologists have studied the poor and noted that they are frequently more compassionate and giving [proportionally] than the rich. Jesus also commented on this when He and His disciples observed the poor widow making her contribution to the treasury [Mark. 12:43,44]. It has been observed that this is part of the reason that they stay poor – they are generous and compassionate to what we might judge a fault. It has also been observed by restaurant servers that the rich are not generally the best “tippers.” Many of the rich have become such by stinginess and miserliness, which obviously includes a grievous lack of compassion and decency. Those who are poor see no way to become more wealthy, and so resign themselves to commiserating in compassion with others in the same circumstance. A poor person who becomes ascendant – having been elevated to a position of authority or opportunity, may begin to ponder ways to catch up with the rich, and such greed may erode all concern and compassion for the poor. One can see many examples of this – slum lords, unscrupulous ghetto businesses, and even musicians and sports heroes who have no concern for the cost of albums or tickets as they enrich themselves on the poor. And we have all seen the person whose promotion quickly makes them insufferable toward their former peers. It is as if they have known all along how much “superior” they were to others; and now that they have the promotion to prove it they exhibit preposterous pride and arrogance. Lord, have mercy!
All of this highlights the dastardly and damnable nature of the sin which has infected our hearts and minds. Apart from faith and trust in the Lord Jesus Christ – which depends upon honest confession of the dark and dire sin that exists within us and is done by us, and includes grasp of His compassion, gracious mercy, forgiveness, and ongoing love for us, we cannot have true and genuine compassion for others. Oh, there are some unbelieving who decide to fake it – for their own personal and selfish reasons, principally to prove that they are better than others, but only a humbling of ourselves that acknowledges that we are always poor in and of ourselves, and that all depends upon the goodness, kindness, and compassion of God produces and fuels a real and sincere compassion for and mercy toward others. Sadly, this grates terribly against our sinful nature which compels us to pride and elevating ourselves above others, and greed which cares little for the effect of our own profits on the lives of others. In fact, real compassion and love seems completely irrational and insane to our sinful hearts. This is the sin which God calls us to acknowledge and confess to Him, the sin for which our dear Savior and Lord laid down His life. Such repentance and grateful trust in Jesus is the only thing that can change and alter our hearts so that we don’t act coldly toward those in need, and so that we don’t engage in hypocrisy, giving away what we don’t really want to give.
So the goal for children of God cannot be to become rich, but rather to do good, to be rich in acts of compassion, kindness, and mercy toward others. Neither is the goal to remain literally poor, but rather to acknowledge our poverty of spirit and to rejoice in the generosity and goodness of God, especially His gracious mercy and forgiveness in Christ Jesus. It is rare to find people who are wealthy who truly understand these things and live generously out of faith and trust in God, but there are some, and this is the path we must take no matter what level of wealth God blesses us with. But it is certain that whether rich or poor, whether on the way up or headed down socioeconomically, we dare not succumb to temptations of greed and pride so that we oppress and abuse others, whether they are rich or poor, but especially if they are poor. A genuine and humble faith and trust in God moves us to greater care and compassion for others; unbelief and hatred of God moves the poor man to oppress the poor, and the beating rain is sure to come back his way.
Prayer For The Day
Dear Lord Jesus, forgive us for the deep, powerful, and perverse temptations we have to pride and greed which compel us to abuse and oppress others, especially the poor. Forgive our lack of genuine compassion and love; soften and warm our hearts to love as You love us. Thwart those whose evil is unbridled and ruthless and protect the vulnerable. As we are blessed and privileged to have more and to do more, help us to exercise love and mercy to others, and to thus invest our earthly goods in heavenly treasures. Amen.