Who's Got Your Back (Proverbs 22:22-23)

There are persons out there who are discriminated against simply because of their status in society. Realize, however, that the Lord has their backs.

"Rob not the poor [being tempted by his helplessness], neither oppress the afflicted at the gate [where the city court is held]; for the Lord will plead their cause, and deprive of life those who deprive the poor or afflicted." Proverbs 22:22-23, Amplified

How much more plain do you want to get. I know that in High School, the jocks would pick on the younger and the weaker of the school population. For some, that behavior is never unlearned and carried into adult life. The Lord says it plain and simply in His Word, "You shall not pervert the judgement of your poor in his dispute." (Exodus 23:6, NKJV) And again He says, "Execute true justice, show mercy and compassion everyone to his brother. Do not oppress the widow or the fatherless, the alien or the poor. Let none of you plan evil in his heart against his brother." (Zechariah 7:9-10, NKJV)

Oppress (Proverbs 22:16)

When I read this next verse, I am reminded of America.

"He who oppresses the poor to get gain for himself, and he who gives to the rich will surely come to want." Proverbs 22:16, Amplified

This verse reminds me of taxes for some reason. The poorest of this nation get the hardest hit by taxes, but the rich get all the tax breaks. I mean to me, it makes no sense. I do not believe that this is the only reason why our nation is dying, but I do believe that this has been a contributor.

Supply and Demand (Proverbs 22:7)

There are certain laws that cannot be broken whether they be scientific or social.

"The rich rules over the poor, and the borrower is servant to the lender." Proverbs 22:7, Amplified

How much more simple can one get. This is a social law that will never change. Travel to any country, nation and culture and the same concept applies. This is what the economic concept of supply and demand is built upon. I do not think that there is anything else that can be said about this verse that already has not been said.

Created Equal (Proverbs 22:2)

Everybody has at least this one thing in common, God made everyone.

"The rich and the poor meet together; the Lord is the Maker of them all." Proverbs 22:2, Amplified

The meeting that this verse is referring to is a commonality between two persons. It is interesting, I was just talking to a friend of mine last night about this sort of thing. Death is the great leveler. In the story of Lazarus and the rich man, status separated these two men, however, in death, these two met eye to eye. Though they had a great chasm separating the two, the rich man finally took notice of Lazarus.

No matter where we are in this life, according to our status, riches or anything else, we are no better than the next guy. We all have the same beginning: the Lord made us all. We all have the same end: death.

On a tombstone, there is a little dash between the birth and death dates. That little dash signifies the life spent by the individual. How will your dash be read?

Heed to the Calling (Proverbs 21:13)

It has been said that if we wish to be treated a certain way, then we, too, must treat others the same way. Jesus Himself said to do unto others as we would have others do to us.

"Whoever stops his ears at the cry of the poor will cry himself and not be heard." Proverbs 21:13, Amplified

When I read the words, "stops his ears", I think of a child who has shoved his two index fingers into his ear canals, thus quieting the flow of noise into his ears. But this is no joke. We must not stop our ears when we hear the poor cry out for help. This does not have to be a financial poorness either. One who is poor simply does not have the resources to help himself.

Jesus told a story about such a man who closed his ears and would not hear the cries of someone else. This man had a huge debt to pay, but because of his cries, he was released from his debt. But how thankful was he? This is what he did after he was released from his own debt. He went out and found one who owed him money as well. One would think that he would show the same benevolence upon him, but no. "So his fellow servant fell down at his feet and begged him saying, 'Have patience with me, and I will pay you all.' And he would not, but went and threw him into prison till he should pay the debt. So when his fellow servants saw what he had done, they were very grieved, and came and told their master all that he had done. Then his master, after he had called him, said to him, 'You wicked servant! I forgave you all that that debt because you begged me. Should you not also have had compassion on your fellow servant, just as I had pity on you?' And his master was angry, and delivered him to the torturers until he should pay all that was due him. So My heavenly Father also will do to you if each of you, from his heart, does not forgive his brother his trespasses." (Matthew 18:29-35, NKJV) It does not matter what the cry is, we must have compassion just as compassion has been given to us. It does not matter if it is dealing with a debt owed to yourself or someone needs help in some other way, we must heed to the higher calling that we have in our lives. If we do not, we are in danger. "For judgement is without mercy tot he one who has shown no mercy. Mercy triumphs over judgement." (James 2:13, NKJV)

Humanity at its Base (Proverbs 19:6-7)

It seems as though there is a theme in the book of Proverbs that focuses on the nature of man. That nature being the desire to get more of what others have and forsake those who have not.

"Many will entreat the favor of the liberal man, and everyone is a friend to him who gives gifts." Proverbs 19:6, Amplified

Every relationship needs to be symbiotic. One needs to give to the other and vice versa. But in humanity (in its natural sinful state) is about looking out for oneself and what one may get. It is true that the one who shells out the dough or gives gifts has more friends. But that friendship that he establishes is strictly on the surface. There is nothing at the heart that draws others in. Who care about the personality of a man when he can give gifts?

"All the brothers of the poor detest him; how much more do his friends go far from him! He pursues them with words, but they are gone." Proverbs 19:7, Amplified

Remember, this is speaking of humanity at its base self. A life without Jesus or God is as empty as a used candy wrapper. The sweetness is gone, therefore it is good for nothing more than the landfill. If we base our relationships on whatever anyone else can give us, then the poor man is doomed; I am doomed. If this is true, then I should have no friends. But what I do have is Jesus Christ and Him crucified as well as my friends. Though I am poor and do not have much to give others, what we do have in common is salvation.

Something and Nothing (Proverbs 18:23)

It is interesting to see the different social dynamics of a society. Given the same set of circumstances, the rich and the poor approach the matter differently.

"The poor uses entreaties, but the rich answers roughly." Proverbs 18:23, Amplified

There isn't much to be said about this verse. But as I stated earlier, the rich and the poor act differently given the same set of circumstances.

An entreaty is an "earnest and humble request". The poor has no power, it seems, to act on his own therefore he uses entreaties to come to his end. In other words he begs. The rich do not have it in them to beg. At their disposal is wealth and resource.

Notice, however, that the Bible condemns neither of the two. Jesus ministered to everyone, the rich and the poor alike. Though the two are on polar opposites of the spectrum, those boundaries never kept Him from ministering. It was those boundaries that kept men and women from receiving. The Bible never condemns either because people are people, no matter the social order. All of us use what is at our disposal.

I am a poor man. There have been times when I have used entreaties to exact money to help with different things. Am I condemned? No. Do I have a lack of faith? No. I feel a lack of faith is sitting and doing nothing, while waiting for something to happen.

Realize one thing, something is never derived out of nothing and nothing doesn't come from something.

Spiritual Law of Mockery (Proverbs 17:5)

There is a spiritual law that we must acknowledge in the verse selection this morning.

"Whoever mocks the poor reproaches his Maker, and he who is glad at calamity shall not be held innocent or go unpunished." Proverbs 17:5, Amplified

There are those in this world who are less fortunate than ourselves. The American society is tiered, this is called capitalism. Our economy thrives on this concept. This is why there can be three different gas stations on three separate corners with three separate prices and the highest priced gas station still operates just as well as the lowest priced one. If we all were the same and had the same income then this would be communism. There is no more USSR, simply because communism does not work.

I went off subject just a second so that we could get an idea of what it was that this verse is trying to teach. Just because there are those less fortunate in our capitalistic society does not mean that they are due less respect than the rich. It has been my experience that the poor tend to work harder than the rich because they need to get by from paycheck to paycheck. (This is not to say that the rich do no work at all.) When we take time out of our day to mock those who are less fortunate we reproach the Maker of all things. There is nothing ambiguous about whose Maker the verse is speaking about. The Lord has made all things for His own pleasure. He has made the poor man as well as the mocker. When we mock the poor man, we are mocking God's own creation.

Then second part of the verse I have to say I have participated in more than the former. There have been times that I have been happy for the demise of someone that I did not like, or simply wished for something bad to happen. Do you realize that when this stance is taken we will not be held innocent by any means? Being glad at the calamity of others is a violation of spiritual as well as moral law. This spiritual truth is laid out for us in the book of an obscure prophet. He was sent to a people who were happy about the fall of the Israelites. "But you should not have gazed on the day of your brother in the day of his captivity; nor should you have rejoiced over the children of Judah in the day of their destruction; nor should you have spoken proudly in the day of distress. For the day of the Lord upon all nations is near; as you have done, it shall be done to you; your reprisal shall be upon your own head." (Obadiah 12&15, NKJV) This prophecy was given to Edom who was descended from Esau the brother of Jacob. All are subject to this law.

Impacting Eternity (Proverbs 14:31)

Being poor is not just a monetary or financial issue.

"He who oppresses the poor reproaches, mocks and insults his Maker, but he who is kind and merciful to the needy honors Him." Proverbs 14:31, Amplified

There are many different forms of need. When I think of the poor, I always see the man at the corner of the freeway off ramp holding a sign expecting a hand out. We as Christians need to identify those needs and be willing to fulfill that void.

In the Gospel of Matthew, when Jesus is judging the nations, He states, "For I was hungry and you gave Me food; I was thirsty and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger and you took Me in; I was naked and you clothed Me; I was sick and you visited Me; I was in prison and you came to Me." (Matthew 25:35-36, NKJV) But the righteous will answer and say that they did none of these things for Jesus. But Jesus will answer that and say, "Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me." (Matthew 25:40, NKJV) Everything that we do impacts eternity.

Even Peter understood this concept. Peter and John were about to enter the temple when a man begging for alms caught their attention. This is how the story transpired, "And a certain man lame from his mother's womb was carried, whom they laid daily at the gate of the Temple which is called Beautiful, to ask for alms from those who entered the temple; who, seeing Peter and John about to go into the temple, asked for alms. And fixing his eyes on him, with John, Peter said, 'Look at us.' So he gave them his attention, expecting to receive something from them. Then Peter said, 'Silver and gold I do not have, but what I do have I give to you: in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk.' And he took him by the right hand and lifted him up, and immediately his feet and ankle bones received strength." (Acts 3:2-7, NKJV) The need that we meet does not necessarily have to be monetary, as long as it impacts eternity.

The result of Peter speaking out in faith was this, "So he, leaping up, stood and walked and entered the temple with them - walking, leaping and praising God. And all the people saw him walking and praising God." (Acts 3:8-9, NKJV) Peter had impacted eternity.

Have the faith in Jesus Christ and reach out in faith, touch someone's life. Jesus never asked for a miracle to be performed everyday, but He does expected us to love the unlovable and touch the undesirable. Reach out and impact eternity today.

Love Thy Neighbor (Proverbs 14:20-21)

The Bible commands us that we are to love our neighbor. These Scriptures tell us the same thing, but come with a warning.

"The poor is hated even by his own neighbor, but the rich has many friends." Proverbs 14:20, Amplified

The man with money has many superficial friends. Everyone wants to be close to him because they love the smell of money. A man with money is a man with means. But the poor man can do nothing for himself, let alone for someone else.

"He who despises his neighbor sins [against God, his fellow man and himself], but happy - blessed and fortunate - is he who is kind and merciful to the poor." Proverbs 14:21, Amplified

We are commanded to love our neighbor by Jesus Himself. The question is asked who are neighbor is and the Lord tells the parable of the Good Samaritan. Everyone is our neighbor in the eyes of the Lord. We are to love them despite skin color, race, religion or monetary value. If we turn our back on our neighbor then we are sinning.

I have to admit, I question the people sitting on the side of the of ramps of the freeways with signs. Beggars have admittedly stated that they make quite a bit of money on the side of the road. My father told me of a time that he watched as a couple he saw everyday day, begging, on his way to work get into a Beemer.

Remember the Bible never commands us to give them money, it tells us not to despise them. If you see a man, or woman, and are compelled to give money then do it. But we can also pray for those people, we can offer them a meal. There are plenty of things that we can do as a Christian to show love love of Christ.