September 21

Sep 21 - Today from Proverbs 21 we look at verse 13
"If a man shuts his ears to the cry of the poor, he too will cry out and not be answered."

When contemplating the book of Proverbs, one must keep in mind that we are studying a book of principles and not promises. Wisdom is understanding life the way God meant it to be. We are to apply these principles of understanding in order to see the quality of life restored in a manner that both honors and pleases our heavenly Father. Especially the quality of the life of those around us - our 'neighbors'. I share this because some teachers would use today's verse as a threat for the purpose of manipulating people to give out of reasons lesser than to love God and love their neighbor. The reason any believer is to be attentive to the cry of the poor is because the Father's ear is attentive to the cry of the poor. Love for our neighbor is not born out of good feelings toward them. It is born out of gratitude to our Father and of responsibility to our neighbor.
'Agape' love - the God kind of love - is not a feeling, it is a decision. When a man shuts his ears to the cry of the poor, it is a decision he must make. "Do I heed the cry, or shall I simply ignore it?" In choosing to ignore, he has decided not to love and that he is 'not his brother's keeper.' He has chosen to adopt the seed of Cain (Gen. 4:9). Cain knew the principle of this proverb way back at the beginning of history. He knew that because of his selfish heart, he would cry out and not be answered (Gen. 4:14). If this proverb were a law, Cain would be condemned to live without mercy just as he showed no mercy to his brother. But God extended mercy even to Cain and placed a mark on him to deter any man from exacting revenge against him (Gen. 4:15). God's punishment was to be enough. But the proverb is still a principle. Self-centered people whose first priorities in life are their own pleasure and comfort find little pity from their fellow man when they fall on hard times. Particularly from the people who were ignored and looked down upon in better times. Were it not for God's mercy, they might readily perish under the vengeful attitudes of those who were scorned in the past. Even though such victims of hard times may survive, they will find themselves 'banished wanderers' looking for an act of mercy to see them through. This is the picture of Cain's punishment (Gen. 4:12).
The lesson for the student is to be merciful, even as your Father in heaven is merciful (Luke 6:36). It is God's original purpose for man to serve his fellow man in community. When one acts self-sufficient, he sees little need for the greater community and is tempted to scorn those who are in need. But this world system is unstable, money fails and situations change every day. One day that same proud person may very well find that he is no longer self-sufficient. It is only then that he discovers that by his own actions he has 'cut himself off' from the community which could now serve as his resourcing. His quality of life suffers because he thought that it was bound in material resources rather than in human resources.
Paul shares a law associated with this proverb in Galatians 6:7. It's known as the Law of the Harvest;
"Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows."
There is another law associated with this proverb. James calls it the Royal Law in James 2:8;
"Love your neighbor as yourself."
In principle and in law, we are to be attentive to the cry of the poor.