August 18

Aug 18 - Today from Proverbs 18 we look at verse 23
"A poor man pleads for mercy, but a rich man answers harshly."

Here we have a case of justice based on reality rather than on truth. The world system honors wealth, and wealth tends to weigh the scales and pervert justice. That's a daily reality we live with. There is a general attitude that comes with wealth. We get a glimpse of it in verse 11a, "The wealth of the rich is their fortified city." That is a reality. Verse 11b states, "They imagine it an unscalable wall." That is the truth. Their reality is based upon imagination.
The truth is, that with God all men are seen without their worldly entrapments and imaginations. We are to be a people of truth. It is sad how much the world tends to influence the church. Way back in the first century James felt compelled to address the issue of favoritism in his epistle. In chapter 2 he gives the illustration of two men coming into a worship meeting; one was richly dressed and bejeweled and the other clothed in shabby rags. He warned the church to address and treat them as equals. By showing favoritism toward the rich man, James charges "Have you not discriminated among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts?" (vs. 4). Judges with evil thoughts. Evil perverts justice. Applying world values to the value of a human soul is evil.
In Solomon's day - in James' day - in our day, religious leaders measured blessings by material prosperity. "If a man lives righteously and applies the laws of God, he will achieve material prosperity, live in health, and be honored among men." (sic) It is known today as the 'prosperity gospel'. All you need is enough faith. Do you know what I believe is one of the harshest answers God's prosperous church offers to the suffering today? "You just need more faith." The implication is, "I am rich in faith, therefore I am more blessed." It is evil. It is discriminatory. It is un-Christlike. I have read the gospels dozens of times, and I never heard Jesus tell any who came to Him for comfort, "You just need more faith." Imagine what thoughts would be playing through that person's mind while walking home that evening.
In Matthew 15 there was an instance where Jesus seemed reluctant to give a blessing - but it wasn't because the subject didn't have enough faith. It was based on heirship of the covenant. The plead came from a Canaanite woman on behalf of her demon-possessed daughter. Jesus told her that His ministry was to God's covenant people, Israel. Her response was not a bold proclamation of faith, but it was a plead for mercy. She received the blessing of her plea. Jesus commended her faith, but she did not execute a formula of faith. She simply threw herself on God's mercy and begged for some of the crumbs of His abundant grace. Her faith rested in God’s mercy.
We see in our proverb today a paradox. The perceived poor person is actually the rich person, for he knows his only hope lies in mercy. The perceived rich person is actually the poor person, for he has set his hope on a false values system. James writes it this way, "Has not God chosen those who are poor in the eyes of the world to be rich in faith and to inherit the kingdom He promised to those who loved Him?" (James 2:5).
Does this mean that materially prosperous (rich) people are poor in faith and will not inherit the kingdom? Only when their riches corrupt their values. Only when they begin to think that the need for God's mercy is for others. Only when they begin to think that their riches are their security. Only when they are confronted with a situation where their servanthood is needed and they answer harshly instead of graciously. Only when they remind the world more of their own kind than they do of Jesus.