Robbery

Do not rob the poor, because he is poor, or crush the afflicted at the gate, for the Lord will plead their cause and rob of life those who rob them. (Proverbs 22:22-23, ESV)

This is the first of Solomon’s 30 wise “sayings” which he has given for true and reliable counsel. My first thought after reading this is “Why would someone need to be told to not take advantage of the poor?” Perhaps our first instinct is to get what we can gain with the least amount of effort. And those who fall into the category of “poor,” or literally “lower ones,” are good, marketable targets. These are the lower class of Israel, those who do not have lawyers because they can’t afford them, and are weak from a social and economical standpoint. Robbing or oppressing them is easy. Who’s going to come to their aid and keep us from getting what we want? The “gate” is the place of business and law. It’s the central activity point for the city. This is talking about taking someone to court to take advantage of them because they are not well represented. But the attorney who rises up to the victory of the poor is Yahweh Himself.

So, God, it appears that it is possible to proceed with court cases or issues of legality which are perfectly acceptable from a standpoint of law, but completely unacceptable in your sight due to issues of justice and inequality. And Solomon is pointing out that it is very unwise to make business or personal decisions according to whether or not you will gain from them without considering the just/unjust outcome, and who might be exploited as a result.

Father, I am guilty of this lack of wisdom. I think purely in terms of numbers, and not in terms of people. I’m much happier when the issue is resolved according to law and not according to fairness. It’s so much more difficult, and requires so much more time and thought when issues of fairness and justice must be considered, and not merely the law. I’ve been known to think, “Don’t trifle with the details of who will get hurt or who is at a disadvantage; simply deal out the law.” After all, there’s no such thing as a “disadvantage” in this country, right? All is fair in America.

God forgive us, as a culture and a nation, for being quick to identify those situations in which we can sue, exploit, or take advantage of a weaker person in order to walk off with extra money in the bank. We are quick to set our targets on the easy kills. Corporations who sue small businesses for trifle reasons come to mind immediately. Also local governments evicting the elderly and poor from their homes without grace appears to fall here. And what about a white, middle-class, red-blooded American taking advantage of his Mexican-American neighbor’s lack of English skills for personal gain?

Yahweh, will rob souls.