Posted on 06/17/2021 2:17:45 AM PDT by Pilgrim's Progress
“Whoso mocketh the poor reproacheth his Maker: and he that is glad at calamities shall not be unpunished” (Proverbs 17:5).
This is pretty much a restatement of 14:31, “He that oppresseth the poor reproacheth his Maker: but he that honoureth him hath mercy on the poor.” Again, repetition is very much the method of instruction in the Book of Proverbs. The more we hear something they better it will stick.
The reason that verse 5 is true is that God has made the poor: “The rich and poor meet together: the LORD is the maker of them all” (Proverbs 22:2). So, when a man looks down his nose at the poor, he is looking down his nose at God—God did that for a reason. He said, “The poor you will have with you always.” Some folks are just better off poor, and some people can handle being rich. Some folk’s poverty kills them, and others riches kill them. If we are honest with God, we’ll be content to say, “Give me what I need, not necessarily what I want.”
God gave us the Holy Spirit to help control that urge to want more than we need, to rule over our own spirit. Seeking the guidance of the Holy Spirit, God can give us the victory over that thing.
“. . . and he that is glad at calamities shall not be unpunished,” don’t be happy when another person gets their due. It may be well-deserved and a long time coming, but if we take an attitude that we are glad for his circumstances we may well find ourselves in dire straits. Most people are not like this, but every once in a while you’ll find yourself having a grudge against somebody—they may have done you dirty at some point in the past. When their automobile gets crashed, or they have a house fire, God says we are not to rejoice in their misfortune.
Christians ought not to have a vengeful, self-seeking spirit. That is a satanic spirit right out of the depths of hell. That is not to say that we, as a nation, shouldn’t rejoice at the demise of an Adolf Hitler or a Saddam Hussein, it is really talking about another person with whom we have had personal dealings. “Rejoice with them that do rejoice, and weep with them that weep” (Romans 12:15).
So, what then are we supposed to do? Paul answers this question for us: “Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault, ye which are spiritual, restore such an one in the spirit of meekness; considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted” (Galatians 6:1). When you get that feeling of “Boy! They deserved that!” it is not the spirit of meekness, but a spirit of pride.
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