Scripture Text (NRSV)
Proverbs 22:1-2, 8-9, 22-23
22:1 A good name is to be chosen rather than great riches, and favor
is better than silver or gold.
22:2 The rich and the poor have this in common: the LORD is the maker
of them all.
22:8 Whoever sows injustice will reap calamity, and the rod of anger
will fail.
22:9 Those who are generous are blessed, for they share their bread
with the poor.
22:22 Do not rob the poor because they are poor, or crush the
afflicted at the gate;
22:23 for the LORD pleads their cause and despoils of life those who
despoil them.
Comments:
This Sunday is Rally Day, and I will want to gear my message from the
Old Testament Wisdom writing with this theme. We will also be
dedicating a memorial garden recently planted. The theme from our
lections seem to center on our attitude toward the poor. In the
affluent suburban church I serve, this Scripture will be a challenge.
Shalom
The gate was the place where justice was bestowed or
the court house. It's quite interesting to read this at a time when
our nation is wrestling with who should really sit at the gate.
Andy in Elizabeth
HI All, This also is rally day....I am focusing on the commonalities
of the rich and poor.....in that they share God's love......after all
"money can't buy me love"
Rev SPE
Rev.SPE Thanks for the idea, Since God loves both rich and poor, what
is the road that all of us should take. Being authentic to each other.
Thanks again
Shalom, Pasthersyl
Money is not being rich, being rich is a matter of the mind being
centered on God not self. Nancy-Wi
This section of material from Proverbs deals with the binary sets of
rich and poor, wealth and poverty. The wisdom imparted from these
particular verses is that those who are blessed by God will honor the
poor, for they are within God's special care.
I've got my three points (Baptists are notorious 3-pointers).
1) - Intergrety (v. 1) - Wealth can often be a detriment to one's
integrity (the James passage bears this out). Seek integrety whether
you have wealth or poverty.
2) - Identity (v. 2) - We identify with the poor. Both are made in
God's image and are the work of God's hand. The church is made up of
poor and wealthy alike. In the first three centuries, slaves and slave
owners both were in church and some even died together in the arena.
An example of this is Perpetua and her slave girl Felicitas.
3) Investment (v. 9) Giving to the poor is a good investment. If we
give of our wealth, it is a sure indication that we trust God for the
return He has promised. Should we give only with the thought of being
blessed by God? Certainly love ought to be our primary motivation but
God wouldn't offer us a blessing if He didn't want us to know about it
or take it into consideration. God returns what we give many times
over so that we may give more.
Just early thoughts.
JG in WI
