Today's Scripture Reading (November 19, 2022): Proverbs 22
In "What Then Must We Do?" Leo Tolstoy writes, "I
sit on a man's back choking him and making him carry me, and yet assure myself
and others that I am sorry for him and wish to lighten his load by all means
possible… except by getting off his back." It is a descriptive explanation
of what modern politics does almost every day. Politicians of every stripe try
to assure the people that they are on the side of the common person. I must
admit it is something at which former U.S. President Donald Trump excelled.
Somehow this multi-billionaire who was given a million-dollar head start to his
career by his father convinced us that he understood where we lived and the
struggles that the common people of his nation had to work through every day. I
am not trying to put down the Donald; it is a truth with which most politicians
have to deal. Men and women who have more power and money than most of us will
ever experience, trying to convince us that they understand how it is that we
live, all so we will trust them with the political reigns of our countries. And
maybe this is one of the reasons our political systems so often appear to be
broken, serving the purposes of the rich and powerful but failing to help the
average person living under their governance. They don't know the things that
bother us. How could they? These men and women live in a world about which most
of us can only dream.
This "Saying of the Wise"
also points out another truth. In our lawsuit happy society, it is those with
the money to hire the best legal representation that get the protection of
society. The poor are easy to exploit because they can't defend themselves.
There is no doubt in my mind that O. J. Simpson's not guilty verdict at the
conclusion of his trial for the murder of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ron Goldman
was only possible because of money and privilege. The ordinary African American
defendant, presented with the same evidence about a similar crime, would have
been convicted during a much shorter trial.
But this "Saying of the Wise"
warns us not to exploit the poor or those without power just because we can. We
might get away with our exploitation in the short term, but God himself is not
impressed by either our money or our power. And he has promised that he will
take up the cause of the poor and the powerless. He will adjudicate each case
and exact the penalty from whoever it is who is guilty, and when that day
comes, we do not want the Creator of the Universe to have a cause to stand
against us.
Tomorrow's Scripture Reading:
Proverbs 23
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