August 28

Aug 28 - Today from Proverbs 28 we look at verse 3
"A ruler who oppresses the poor is like a driving rain that leaves no crops."

Did you ever hear of the term 'gully-washer'? It is a colloquialism for a hard driving rain that creates so much run-off that it erodes every little unprotected decline. It creates gullies where there were once even slopes. Perhaps not many of you were ever personally acquainted with agriculture - but a spring gully-washer could mean replanting an entire field. The eroding force of torrents of water could wash the seed right out of the planting furrows and pool them in low-lying areas where they did no good.
The audience of the teacher of this proverb was highly agrarian, and they knew precisely what the word picture meant. Wasted resources. A huge loss of potential. Extra labor if there was to be any crop at all. But how could that be compared to oppressing the poor? And how can we make application to our own lives? We are neither farmers (most), nor rulers?
Let's first discuss the thought of oppressing the poor. It speaks of injustice against those who lack resources or ability. As with most areas of sin, we immediately think of sins of commission. But there are also sins of omission - when we fail to do that which is right. Whether they are of commission or omission, sin has consequences. That's why God instructs us in the ways of righteousness - he does not want to see us suffering the consequences of sin. We can oppress the poor by doing nothing. What is the consequence of oppressing the poor? Wasted resources. A huge loss of potential. Extra work in the future. Before we look further at the consequence, let's look at the ruler.
A ruler is one who has dominion. They dominate a particular institution, or some level of the particular institution. A good ruler is to use his position and authority for the good of the institution over or in that which he rules. The goal is to see the entire institution become a healthy and productive organism. But, rulers can get heady and can tend to get distracted. (Or, perhaps they never had the proper commitment to the institution going in.) The first to suffer in these types of situations are those who lack resources or ability. While others quickly learn how the corrupted system works, and use it to their advantage, the poor suffer. Now, how do we equate this to a gully-washer?
A good leader is always to be in the process of discipling and mentoring other leaders. Organisms reproduce. Discipling is investing one's self into others to see them rise to their potential. Any institution that incorporates this practice from the top down will be a healthy and productive organism. No matter what level someone is at in the institution, there is always the potential for one to rise to their greatest potential if one is willing to learn from their mentors and use their abilities and opportunities to mentor others. According to Proverbs, the only ones who do not benefit even in these ideal situations are the simple, the fools, the mockers, and the sluggards. Everyone else is serving in an organism that is functioning to see each that person rises to his or her potential. For those who lack resources and opportunity, mentors who do have the resources and can provide opportunities do so. When this structure breaks down, and those in areas of authority begin to use the system for their own selfish gain and purposes, those at the bottom are the first to suffer. They have potential and ability, but that all gets 'washed out' through oppression. All of the resources and profits of the institution are now swallowed up by those who wield authority. In a matter of a few generations, the potential of those stuck at the bottom is greatly eroded. The poor become uneducated, untrained, and have learned to simply exist rather than to excel. It will take a lot of extra effort to 're-seed' this field. Great and powerful institutions - even nations and empires - have fallen because they did not learn the lesson of the gully-washer.
The church is in constant peril of becoming one of these institutions. If any institution in this world should be a living example of a healthy and productive organism, it should be the church. The pattern comes from the God of the Bible, and we are to be a people of His Word. The 'rulers' in the church structure are to be the primary mentors, serving as an example in training others how to serve and mentor. "It was he (Jesus), who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, to prepare God's people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ. From Him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work." (Ephesians 4:11-13,16)
"Grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work." There is nothing passive or automatic about becoming a mature church. Leaders are to be aggressive in equipping - that means leaders on every level. This principle is to be carried into every area of the believer's life. In the home, on the campuses, in the workplace, and certainly in the institution of the church. Being passive with such clear instruction is a sin of omission. There are consequences. Consequences that God would like us to avoid.