He raises the poor from the dust and lifts the needy from the ash heap; he seats them with princes, with the princes of his people. – Psalm 113:7-8

Today's Scripture Reading (August 28, 2022): Psalms 113 & 114

The split between rich and poor is steadily widening. Many fear that we are quickly arriving at a situation in Western Culture where this income gap will result in a class war. But what we sometimes underestimate in this widening financial gap is that we also have much less contact with people of different economic statuses. Those who live paycheck to paycheck don't get a chance to sit down with millionaires; therefore, we don't get to learn some of the secrets and problems that often accompany wealth. And there is a good reason for that. The rich are afraid of those who might make demands on their wealth, the continual carousel of people who want them to give their wealth away. It is easier to only associate with those who have money. And so, the financial gap widens socially as much as it does economically.

And even among the rich and the very rich, there is a gap. I have an acquaintance who plays professional hockey, but he fulfills a journeyman role on his hockey team and is not one of the superstars. And he tells stories about how extremely rich superstars differentiate themselves from the lower-paid role players. They are all millionaires, but the super-rich tend to distinguish themselves from the merely rich socially.

One of the biblical expectations is that the day is coming when the social divisions between the economic classes will disappear. The poor will sit with the rich. And maybe even more importantly, the value of people will no longer depend on money but on other more important characteristics.

This Psalm is not the only mention of this process in the Bible. Psalm 113 is often viewed as an ancestor to Paul's thoughts written to the Church at Ephesus.

But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved. And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus (Ephesians 2:4-7).

As far as Paul was concerned, the presence of grace, available to all, was a social equalizer. Grace was why the early church was successful at mingling economic groups. The rich and powerful worshipped in the same space as enslaved people because they understood that both were recipients of God's much-needed grace.

But sometimes, we overlook that is almost exactly what Hannah says in 1 Samuel. "He raises the poor from the dust and lifts the needy from the ash heap; he seats them with princes and has them inherit a throne of honor" (1 Samuel 2:8). The length and breadth of the Bible speak of a time that is coming when the class system will be thrown away. We will all be valued as the precious children of God that we are. And we should all look forward to that day.

Today's Scripture Reading: Psalm 115