Devotional Messages

Proverbs 22:16, 22-23, 27 – Oppressing the poor in order to enrich oneself, and giving to the rich, will lead only to loss. … Do not rob the poor because they are poor, or crush the afflicted at the gate; for the Lord pleases their cause and despoils of life those who despoil them. … If you have nothing with which to pay, why should your bed be taken from under you?(NRSV)

What we think is best for someone is not always what is best.  I realized that too late one time, when I tried to refuse a gift from someone I had judged couldn’t afford it.  Too late I realized that by telling that person to save their pennies for the other things I knew were needed, I was humiliating them and denying them the joy of giving.  Is there any greater sin?  A friend assured me that profiting off the poor’s misery is worse, when I asked. But I’m not sure what the writer of Proverbs would say. There are so many ways to “crush the afflicted”.

One thing these short verses make clear is what liberation theologians call God’s “preferential option for the poor.”  God loves the poor – even prefers the poor, not because they are especially good, but precisely because they are poor.  There is no question of the deserving poor and the undeserving poor; just beloved children of God who are vulnerable and needy.

I find myself curious about verse 22 here.  Is it saying that because someone is already poor, you shouldn’t rob them of what they have left? Or is it saying that because they’re poor, they’re especially vulnerable to being robbed and that makes it a worse offense?  Both can be and are true, and the result is the same: as believers in God, we are called to protect the poor from exploitation.  Sadly, it seems our world is set up exactly backwards from that call.

It’s terribly expensive to be poor.  The interest on payday loans is astronomical.  Paying for a room by the day or week is far more costly than paying monthly rent or a mortgage.  As we know, our homeless neighbors are robbed of their belongings frequently, precisely because they do not live in secure situations.  Buying in bulk, because you can afford it and have space for storage is far more cost-efficient than buying the small size peanut butter that’s affordable with what’s left of a Social Security check by the end of the month.

Gospel economics, as reflected here in Proverbs, are a radical alternative to the way our world is structured.  We will find ourselves searching for caveats and rationalizations.  But the call from God is clear:  we are to protect the poor and plead their cause, and never to take the little they have away from them, even if all they have is the chance to give a gift we don’t think they can afford.

Collect for the Week:  Gracious, Loving God, whose very breath is the only reason we live, grant that we might loosen our hold on our pride and our goods, that we might live and share in ways that reflect the radical love of Jesus.  Through Christ Jesus and the Holy Spirit we pray, Amen.