Do not take advantage of the widow or the fatherless. – Exodus 22:22

Today's Scripture Reading (November 22, 2024): Exodus 22

Herbert Spencer (1820-1903) coined the phrase "Survival of the Fittest" after reading Charles Darwin's book "On the Origin of the Species." The idea put forward in Darwin's Theory of Evolution was that random changes in the genetic makeup would result in adaptations. These adaptations, slowly over time, would make the organism better, or worse, at handling the environment in which the organism lives. This may be an oversimplification of Darwinian theory. Still, Spencer recognized in the fight between these adaptations that those who survived would be the ones most fit for survival in the environment.

A simple example of this principle might be the rabbits living around my home. During the summer, the rabbits are brown. But the rabbits turn white as the temperature slides down into the negative numbers, and snow begins to cover the ground. When food for predators becomes scarce in winter, a white rabbit is much harder to see than a brown one. Therefore, a rabbit with the genetic ability to change color with the weather has a sizable advantage. If everything else is equal between a white and a brown winter rabbit, the white rabbit has a better chance of survival or is more fit than a brown rabbit. Thus, Spencer would advocate that the white rabbit will have a better chance of surviving and replicating itself in the coming mating season. 

"Survival of the Fittest" is a biological fight. It is an advantage that says that the stronger will survive and the weakest will die. We could call it a biological imperative. But just because it is a biological reality doesn't mean that that is the way we should live. I am not a rabbit, and my educated guess is that neither are you. We can fight back against a biological imperative. And the Law of Moses insists that that is how we should live.

The weakest people in an ancient male-dominated society were the widow and the fatherless. Under normal circumstances, it was the man who earned the money or brought home the food. While we reject this suggestion in our contemporary society, even now, it is the widow and the fatherless who are more likely to experience poverty than any other group in our local population. In the battle of the survival of the fittest, these are the ones who lose in the societal struggle. These are the ones who are the easiest to take advantage of. In the tale of our lengthening life spans, these are the ones, along with older adults, whom the immoral tend to take advantage of.

But God's instruction is simple: don't do it. We are to protect the weak among us and care and protect those of whom some might want to take advantage. Herbert Spencer's "Survival of the Fittest" might be the biological imperative among the plants and animals of the planet. Yet, God has given us the tools to fight against that imperative. What is true for rabbits should not be true for us. 

Jesus stressed all of this during his ministry on earth. "Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me" (Matthew 25:40).

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Exodus 23