The Wealth and Trials of the Poor

[Proverbs 18:23; 19:1, 4, 7, 17]

Friends, is being poor a blessing or a curse? When I think about this question, the phrase that comes to mind is: "Is being poor a sin?" No one would say that being poor is a sin. However, as we live in this world, it seems that the poor are often treated like sinners. That is to say, although poverty itself is not a sin, in this world where the gap between rich and poor is growing wider, the poor live under the world’s finger-pointing, contempt, and ridicule.

When I meditated on today’s scripture passages — Proverbs 18:23 and 19:1, 4, 7, 17 — the thought came to me about "the wealth of the poor." In other words, while a poor person may be economically poor, there are poor people who are truly rich in God’s eyes. Nevertheless, Proverbs 19:4 and 19:7 teach us that these poor people will inevitably suffer trials while living in this world. Additionally, Proverbs 19:17 instructs us on how we should treat the poor. So, I want to meditate on three main points based on these passages and receive the lessons God gives us: first, the wealth of the poor; second, the trials of the poor; and third, how we should treat the poor.

First, what is the wealth of the poor?

The text teaches us two things:

(1) The wealth of the poor is earnestness (or heartfelt sincerity).

Look at Proverbs 18:23: "The poor plead with earnest words, but the rich answer harshly." Personally, when I compare the Hispanic community around our church, whom our church’s Hispanic ministry reaches out to evangelize, with the Hispanic people in Tijuana, Mexico, I think those in Tijuana have a greater openness to accept the gospel than the Hispanics here in the U.S. In fact, statistics show that during the last mission trip to Tijuana, about ten Hispanic people heard the gospel and accepted Jesus as their Savior, while here in our church’s local Hispanic community, even after almost seven years of Hispanic ministry, not many souls have accepted Jesus.

Why is this so? One reason I think is that the Hispanics living in Tijuana, Mexico, are more eager and earnest to hear the gospel because they live in greater poverty than the Hispanics living here in the U.S. Put another way, I believe that those living in Tijuana are poorer in spirit (Matt. 5:3) than those living in the U.S. So, with this in mind, I think being poor can be a blessing.

In the first half of Proverbs 18:23, the author, King Solomon, says, "The poor plead with earnest words." What does this mean? Dr. Park Yoon-sun says, “When a person is poor, he becomes humble and becomes earnest in asking for what he needs.” As we know, when the Israelites lived in the wilderness, God warned them through Moses. What was the warning? When they entered the land of Canaan—a land flowing with milk and honey, abundant with food and lacking nothing (Deut. 8:9)—they should not become proud and forget their God (v.14).

Why did God warn the Israelites like this? Because God knew that when they entered Canaan, ate their fill, built beautiful houses to live in, and their cattle and sheep flourished, and silver and gold increased, and their possessions became abundant (v.12-13), their hearts would become proud.

Friends, shouldn’t we also heed this warning from God? Last week I heard news that the American economy is showing signs of recovery. Anyone hearing this news would think it’s very good news. However, after hearing this news and meditating on Proverbs 18:23, I felt that this news might not be entirely good for us. The reason is that I believe we still lack earnestness in seeking God. This is my personal opinion, but I think many Christians still lack the sincere longing to seek God. Therefore, the news of an improving economy could be more of a danger than a blessing to us.

What is it that Christians need right now? Is it economic prosperity through economic growth? Or is it the earnest desire to seek God? Living in this postmodern age, I think there are three things that are notably lacking in us Christians. Those three things are: commitment, earnestness (or desperation), and a sense of urgency.

Why are commitment, earnestness, and urgency lacking? As I reflect on this, I find the cause in selfishness, comfort-seeking, and laziness. As the world increasingly moves toward its end, as 2 Timothy 3:2 says, people “love themselves.” As a result, even we Christians love ourselves more than we love the Lord and His church. Because of this, we are gradually serving the church less and less. One of the things I noticed when I went to Korea recently is that, perhaps because people are struggling to survive, there are fewer and fewer people volunteering with a heart to serve the church. More and more, believers are not dedicating themselves to the church. The same can be said for earnestness. Christians who love themselves pursue their own comfort; why would they want to suffer or endure hardship for the Lord? Hedonism is dangerous, but I think comfort-seeking is just as dangerous. The reason is that it not only causes us to fail to seek God earnestly, but it also makes it impossible for us to do so.

What about urgency? Do you and I have a sense of urgency? Somehow, it seems that we lack not only a sense of duty, but also a sense of urgency. The reason is that, as we love ourselves and pursue comfort, we become lazy. Because of this, I believe we are failing to properly fulfill the mission that God has entrusted to us as His stewards. And yet, when we stand before the Lord, we think about repentance, but we are not living our faith with the sense of urgency that we should.

Brothers and sisters, we must pray earnestly to God with the words of the “poor” mentioned in today’s passage, Proverbs 18:23. In other words, we need to become poor in spirit and pray to God with an earnest desire to seek Him. As we already meditated on in Proverbs 8:17, it says, “I love those who love me, and those who seek me earnestly will find me.” Also, in Luke 22:44, we see that Jesus “prayed more earnestly, and His sweat was like drops of blood falling to the ground.” I pray that you and I may become those who pray earnestly to God, just like Jesus.

(2) The Wealth of the Poor is Sincerity.

Now, let’s look at Proverbs 19:1: “Better is a poor person who walks in integrity than one who is perverse in speech and is a fool.” Personally, one of the Christian virtues that I highly value in my own life of faith is sincerity. One of the reasons I value sincerity so much is because of a moment when I was either in college or seminary, I can’t quite remember. I was with my grandmother visiting an elderly apartment where one of her friends, an elder, lived. I remember my grandmother supporting her and helping her walk into the apartment, and as she introduced me, she pointed to me and said, “This is my grandson who will become a pastor.” Upon hearing that, the elder turned around and said to me, “Be sincere.” Those words from the elder have echoed in my heart ever since.

Don’t you also want a sincere pastor? I too sincerely hope that all of you will be sincere believers, and that we all may be sincere Christians.

A similar verse to Proverbs 19:1 is found in Proverbs 28:6: “Better is a poor person who walks in integrity than one who is crooked in his ways, even though he is rich.” The “poor person who walks in integrity” in the first part of these two verses refers to a poor person who acts with sincerity. A sincere person, as explained by Park Yoon-sun, is someone whose outward and inward life are aligned. Now, in today’s passage, King Solomon contrasts such a sincere person with a foolish one. In other words, he is contrasting sincerity and falsehood, rather than contrasting wealth and poverty. What does this mean? It means that a poor person who is sincere is better than a false person.

In Proverbs 28:6, the person “who is rich but crooked in his ways” refers to a rich person whose heart is bent (crooked). Such a person does not speak the truth and distorts things (according to Park Yoon-sun). The Bible says in Proverbs 2:15 that “their paths are crooked, and their ways are devious.” Ultimately, even though they are rich, these crooked people speak and act in a distorted way because their hearts are twisted. These people are called foolish by the writer of Proverbs. And the foolish are not sincere; instead, they are false.

Brothers and sisters, we should strive and labor not to become rich, but to become sincere Christians. We must abandon falsehood and hypocrisy, and dedicate ourselves to living a life where our inner and outer selves are in harmony. To do this, we must listen to God's voice and obey it. In other words, we must live a life of faith that is being incarnated through the Word. Therefore, we must be sincere Christians.

Secondly, what is the trial of the poor?

Let’s look at Proverbs 19:4 and 7:
“Wealth brings many friends, but the poor is separated from his friend... The poor is also hated even by his brothers; how much more will his friends avoid him? He may pursue them with words, but they are gone.”
From these verses, we can see what the trial of the poor is. It is not only being hated by their brothers but also seeing their friendships break apart. Additionally, in Proverbs 14:20, the Bible says that the poor are also hated by their neighbors. This means that the poor are isolated and inevitably placed in a state of loneliness.
Brothers and sisters, the poor are not only hated and placed in a state of loneliness, but they also suffer abuse and oppression from wicked authorities, as Proverbs 28:3 and 15 tell us (see also 22:16). Why does God allow the poor to go through such trials? Why did God create some as rich and others as poor?
Let’s look at Proverbs 22:2 and 29:13:
“The rich and the poor meet together; the Lord is the maker of them all” (22:2).
“The poor and the oppressor have this in common: the Lord gives light to the eyes of both” (29:13).
What does this mean? It means that God has created both the “oppressor,” that is, the unjust rich and the unjust poor, and He has allowed them to live together. Furthermore, God does not distinguish between the rich and the poor, and He gives light to their eyes.
The phrase “gives light to their eyes” means He gives them the strength to continue living. In Matthew 5:44-45, the Lord says something similar to His disciples: “God shines His light on both the evil and the good; He sends rain on both the righteous and the unrighteous.” Although we cannot fully understand why God created some as rich and others as poor, one thing is clear: both the rich and the poor are within God’s will.
Brothers and sisters, the trials that our poor brothers and sisters go through produce patience, as James 1:3 says. And in James 1:12, the apostle James also says: “Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial, because when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love Him.”
In the midst of poverty, may we endure trials with patience, holding on to the Word that comes from God's mouth (Deut. 8:3), so that we may receive the crown of life that the Lord has promised.

Thirdly, how should we treat the poor?

Let’s look at today’s scripture, Proverbs 19:17:
"Whoever is kind to the poor lends to the Lord, and he will reward them for what they have done."
What does this mean? The Bible instructs us to have compassion for the poor. It also teaches that showing mercy to the poor is like lending to God, and whatever we give to the poor, God will repay us for it (Park Yunseon). In the second half of Proverbs 14:31, the Bible says, "Whoever is kind to the poor honors God." Therefore, we must show compassion for the poor. Moreover, we must understand the plight of the poor (29:7). In this context, we must help the poor (28:27). We must give "bread to the poor" (22:9). We must never ignore them (28:27). However, the unjust rich, filled with pride, respond coldly when the poor beg (18:23b). This mirrors the attitude of the arrogant rich man in Luke 16:19-21, who ignored the beggar Lazarus (Park Yunseon). Furthermore, the unjust rich man even exploits the poor to gain profits (Proverbs 22:16). However, the first part of Proverbs 14:31 teaches that anyone who mistreats the poor despises the God who created them.

Closing reflection:
The land we live in, this United States, is a land of abundance. At the same time, it seems that this land is becoming spiritually poorer. The reason is that, just as the Israelites became prideful in the land of Canaan, a land flowing with milk and honey, we too are becoming proud because of our prosperity. In times like these, we must humbly receive the lessons God gives us through today’s scripture. We must long for the poor’s fervor and sincerity. We must live lives that pursue this kind of wealth. At the same time, we must be prepared to face the trials that the poor go through. We must be ready to be hated by our brothers and neighbors and placed in isolation, living in loneliness. In such situations, we must show compassion to the poor and help them. Therefore, I pray that we all bring glory to God in all we do.