WEBVTT 00:00:00.240 --> 00:00:10.080 I'm grateful for the opportunity to preach this morning on the book of Proverbs, and specifically the issue of wealth and poverty and wisdom. 00:00:11.859 --> 00:00:22.920 Pastor Mike is in the middle of a series on the book of Matthew right now, and a few weeks ago he emphasized Jesus' message that the harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. 00:00:22.920 --> 00:00:29.800 And that has really been meaningful to me over the last few weeks, it seems to emphasize that. 00:00:29.860 --> 00:00:33.719 I've thought about that a lot, and I know that our small group has talked about that. 00:00:34.620 --> 00:00:46.980 That simple statement, that the harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few, is a great reminder to all of us, as individuals and as a church, of our gospel mission here in downtown Kenosha. 00:00:48.100 --> 00:00:50.780 And we're reminded of our strategic location here. 00:00:50.780 --> 00:01:02.939 We're in contact with so many people who are needy, both in terms of their backgrounds and circumstances, but also, most importantly, because they need Jesus. 00:01:03.640 --> 00:01:10.939 The harvest is plentiful, and we have the opportunity to work for Jesus' kingdom. 00:01:12.020 --> 00:01:19.319 When Mike asked me to speak, he suggested that I preach from the Old Testament, which is fine with me, since that's what I teach. 00:01:19.319 --> 00:01:22.579 And I thought about what I might speak on. 00:01:22.639 --> 00:01:31.280 I thought it might be helpful for all of us to consider that the book of Proverbs has some important things to say about money and wealth and poverty. 00:01:32.000 --> 00:01:42.099 We want our perspective about wealth and poverty to be in sync and informed by the wisdom that's taught in God's word. 00:01:42.099 --> 00:01:52.439 It is particularly relevant for our church because of our location, because this is a particular ministry we have to the people around us in our community. 00:01:53.119 --> 00:02:04.439 And it's a topic that's related to gospel ministry because when we are out representing God and telling people about his word and his kingdom, 00:02:04.439 --> 00:02:07.840 they are learning who are learning who he is as they watch us. 00:02:07.980 --> 00:02:16.819 And so the more that our values and our perspective are in sync with his, the more faithful we will be in sharing the good news of Jesus Christ with them. 00:02:17.759 --> 00:02:19.900 Let's start this morning with prayer. 00:02:19.900 --> 00:02:24.379 Father, we believe in the Holy Spirit. 00:02:25.580 --> 00:02:30.400 And we pray that he would be at work in our midst this morning. 00:02:31.400 --> 00:02:38.640 I pray that in my weakness that you would help me to re-speak your word faithfully and clearly this morning. 00:02:39.219 --> 00:02:44.020 And I pray that for all of us, you would help us to learn from your word. 00:02:44.840 --> 00:02:47.200 And that you would be at work in our midst here this morning. 00:02:47.500 --> 00:02:48.340 In your name we pray. 00:02:49.300 --> 00:02:49.560 Amen. 00:02:49.900 --> 00:02:50.300 Amen. 00:02:51.400 --> 00:02:59.740 There's an old story, you've probably heard it, about three men who have never seen an elephant before and who are asked to describe it. 00:03:00.740 --> 00:03:05.860 So they take some time to examine the elephant and then they offer their insights. 00:03:05.960 --> 00:03:10.000 And the first man says that an elephant is long and skinny like a snake. 00:03:10.740 --> 00:03:13.159 And the second man says, no, no, I don't know what you're talking about. 00:03:13.200 --> 00:03:14.800 I don't know what kind of an elephant you're examining. 00:03:15.280 --> 00:03:19.319 An elephant is thick and round like the trunk of a tree. 00:03:19.319 --> 00:03:26.859 And the third man says, well, I don't know what you guys are examining here, but I think that an elephant is wide and circular like a disc. 00:03:26.860 --> 00:03:32.340 Well, obviously, the three men are examining a different part of the elephant. 00:03:33.740 --> 00:03:35.260 One is feeling the trunk. 00:03:35.259 --> 00:03:38.500 One has his arms around one of the big legs. 00:03:38.500 --> 00:03:39.799 One is up on the back. 00:03:39.799 --> 00:03:48.539 And so what they're saying is true to a certain extent, but they are not including all of the information in their analysis. 00:03:48.539 --> 00:03:50.379 Why is that? 00:03:51.299 --> 00:03:52.259 Because they're blind. 00:03:53.900 --> 00:04:04.599 And no matter how hard they try to examine that elephant with all of the information, they're just not capable of stepping back and looking at the whole thing all at once and saying, this is what an elephant is. 00:04:05.259 --> 00:04:06.539 They lack perspective. 00:04:06.739 --> 00:04:10.379 But because they're blind, it's impossible for them to gain the whole perspective. 00:04:10.379 --> 00:04:11.379 They can move. 00:04:11.379 --> 00:04:16.199 They can move from the trunk to the leg to the tail and then back up to the ear again. 00:04:16.939 --> 00:04:25.379 But without their sight, they're never going to be able to have a proper perspective, a proper vantage point about an elephant because it's just too big. 00:04:27.159 --> 00:04:30.800 Without their sight, they don't have the tools that they need to explain it properly. 00:04:31.480 --> 00:04:33.439 And life can be a little bit like that elephant. 00:04:33.620 --> 00:04:36.019 Think about how big and complex our lives are. 00:04:36.019 --> 00:04:54.839 There are all kinds of things that we have to navigate on a regular basis, relationships and responsibilities and encountering people with different values, priorities and thinking about power structures and authority and morality and politics and the different opportunities that we face. 00:04:55.979 --> 00:04:59.719 We only get one life and we want to live it well. 00:04:59.720 --> 00:05:06.260 But in order to do that, we have to be able to understand how the world really works. 00:05:06.400 --> 00:05:14.320 We have to be able to have a broad perspective about the world in order to avoid the pitfalls, in order to really to get ahead. 00:05:15.900 --> 00:05:17.640 This is the intent of wisdom. 00:05:18.820 --> 00:05:25.460 Wisdom seeks to describe life accurately so that we can plot our course and live skillfully. 00:05:25.980 --> 00:05:28.720 Wisdom seeks to describe life like that elephant. 00:05:28.720 --> 00:05:31.460 And the book of Proverbs is a book about wisdom. 00:05:32.460 --> 00:05:36.200 It contains a lot of wise sayings about many, many different topics. 00:05:36.540 --> 00:05:41.520 Parenting and money and sexuality, friendships, government. 00:05:42.880 --> 00:05:47.160 But these sayings in the book of Proverbs aren't the sum total of wisdom. 00:05:47.720 --> 00:05:55.580 Instead, we should think about Proverbs as a textbook with case studies in it to teach us how to be wise no matter what situation we face. 00:05:55.580 --> 00:05:58.120 In other words, it's more than the sum of its parts. 00:05:58.720 --> 00:06:05.320 The goal in Proverbs is not just to get any one of these individual situations right, but to be wise. 00:06:06.200 --> 00:06:08.820 To learn how to be wise in every life situation. 00:06:08.980 --> 00:06:10.460 To have the skill of wisdom. 00:06:11.460 --> 00:06:17.220 So that no matter what situation in life we tackle, we think about it properly with the right perspective. 00:06:17.220 --> 00:06:19.540 And what is that right perspective? 00:06:21.180 --> 00:06:27.620 What is that perspective that helps us to see everything correctly and to make decisions on that correct basis? 00:06:28.320 --> 00:06:30.860 It is the fear of the Lord. 00:06:32.500 --> 00:06:35.460 Lou just read from Proverbs 1-7 earlier in the service. 00:06:35.640 --> 00:06:38.200 This is the thesis statement of the book of Proverbs. 00:06:38.199 --> 00:06:38.860 It says this, 00:06:38.939 --> 00:06:44.620 The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and instruction. 00:06:44.920 --> 00:06:46.459 This is the key to wisdom. 00:06:47.279 --> 00:06:49.339 This is the prerequisite to wisdom. 00:06:49.599 --> 00:06:50.599 The fear of the Lord. 00:06:51.459 --> 00:06:56.539 You can stand back and you can try and describe this elephant called life all you want, 00:06:56.540 --> 00:06:59.920 but without the fear of the Lord, you are effectively blind. 00:07:00.860 --> 00:07:04.760 Without the fear of the Lord, you don't have the perspective, and you can't have the perspective, 00:07:05.480 --> 00:07:08.140 that you need to live life properly and faithfully. 00:07:09.439 --> 00:07:10.640 There is a God. 00:07:11.500 --> 00:07:12.740 And He is a great God. 00:07:13.140 --> 00:07:14.820 And He created everything that exists. 00:07:15.120 --> 00:07:16.140 We are His creatures. 00:07:16.620 --> 00:07:18.320 He made the world a particular way. 00:07:18.319 --> 00:07:21.240 He rewards good and punishes evil. 00:07:21.980 --> 00:07:25.540 He knows all things and will act in accordance of His values. 00:07:26.759 --> 00:07:31.000 And so this orientation toward the fear of the Lord is crucial, 00:07:31.300 --> 00:07:33.519 and in the book of Proverbs, it runs through the entire book. 00:07:33.620 --> 00:07:36.439 It starts in chapter 1, verse 7 as a thesis statement, 00:07:36.539 --> 00:07:42.039 and it runs in chapter after chapter, chapter 2, chapter 3, chapter 8, 9, 10, 14, 15, 16, 00:07:42.139 --> 00:07:43.240 and all the way through the book. 00:07:43.240 --> 00:07:48.600 This is the argument, the backbone that runs through the entire book of Proverbs. 00:07:48.720 --> 00:07:50.400 Listen to this in Proverbs 3, 7. 00:07:51.620 --> 00:07:53.519 Be not wise in your own eyes. 00:07:53.660 --> 00:07:56.620 Be not wise in your own eyes. 00:07:57.100 --> 00:08:00.660 Fear the Lord and turn away from evil. 00:08:01.980 --> 00:08:07.000 It's an interesting Proverbs because it says that there is a basic sort of incomplete wisdom 00:08:07.000 --> 00:08:08.699 that is wisdom in our own eyes. 00:08:08.699 --> 00:08:15.199 That's where we try and get things done, get things right based on just what we can see around us. 00:08:15.259 --> 00:08:16.639 And then there is a deeper wisdom. 00:08:16.819 --> 00:08:19.920 There is a truer wisdom that is rooted in the fear of the Lord. 00:08:21.519 --> 00:08:23.079 Proverbs 22, 4 says, 00:08:23.920 --> 00:08:29.560 The reward for humility and fear of the Lord is riches and honor and life. 00:08:30.560 --> 00:08:32.600 The fear of the Lord produces humility, 00:08:32.600 --> 00:08:35.879 and the fear of the Lord is a kind of humility 00:08:35.879 --> 00:08:39.920 because we're recognizing our right place before God. 00:08:41.340 --> 00:08:45.019 These statements about the fear of the Lord are anchor points in the book of Proverbs. 00:08:45.279 --> 00:08:49.120 This is the key to seeing the world rightly and living skillfully. 00:08:50.000 --> 00:08:55.100 The fear of the Lord is not the trunk of the elephant. 00:08:55.320 --> 00:08:56.680 It's not the tail of the elephant. 00:08:57.279 --> 00:08:58.180 It's our sight. 00:08:59.620 --> 00:09:02.300 It gives us the ability to see the world correctly. 00:09:02.299 --> 00:09:04.759 And while the secular person, the person without God, 00:09:04.919 --> 00:09:08.339 stumbles around doing the best they can with an incomplete view, 00:09:09.279 --> 00:09:12.719 the one who fears the Lord takes off the blindfold and says, 00:09:13.059 --> 00:09:13.779 It's an elephant. 00:09:14.539 --> 00:09:15.399 I can see it now. 00:09:15.479 --> 00:09:18.419 I can see everything from the proper perspective, and I know what to do. 00:09:20.259 --> 00:09:23.659 So our task today is to see what the book of Proverbs has to teach us about money, 00:09:23.779 --> 00:09:26.439 and in light of that, how to treat the poor. 00:09:26.620 --> 00:09:29.279 How does a wise person treat the poor? 00:09:29.279 --> 00:09:34.919 I would guess that if we went out here on the streets of Kenosha or down to Pleasant Prairie 00:09:34.919 --> 00:09:37.039 and we asked people, how should we treat the poor? 00:09:37.139 --> 00:09:38.399 Why should we treat them that way? 00:09:38.439 --> 00:09:40.319 We would get a whole variety of answers, 00:09:40.399 --> 00:09:44.919 and those answers would probably be based upon whether we vote Republican or Democrat. 00:09:45.799 --> 00:09:51.459 Those answers would probably be based on whether that person has experienced poverty himself or herself. 00:09:51.460 --> 00:09:56.019 There would be all kinds of influences, what our parents have taught us about wealth, 00:09:56.800 --> 00:10:02.340 what we've learned in school, just sort of our overall perspective about money. 00:10:03.360 --> 00:10:10.720 But if we fear the Lord, what effect does that have on money and how we treat the poor? 00:10:10.720 --> 00:10:13.820 So I want to see what Proverbs has to say about this, 00:10:13.860 --> 00:10:17.860 and the way that I've gone about this is I've gone through the whole book of Proverbs, 00:10:17.980 --> 00:10:21.160 and I've identified every single verse in the book that has to do with poverty. 00:10:22.320 --> 00:10:26.240 Then I, based on what those teach, I've collected them into five groups. 00:10:27.379 --> 00:10:31.779 Five thematic groups that wind their way through the book of Proverbs like threads, 00:10:31.879 --> 00:10:36.080 and so what we're going to do is we're just going to sort of trace those threads through the book of Proverbs. 00:10:36.080 --> 00:10:41.300 We're going to look at some key examples, not every one because there's too many of them, 00:10:41.400 --> 00:10:44.800 but some key examples for each of those threads that wind their way through the book. 00:10:44.879 --> 00:10:48.300 The first three threads just describe reality. 00:10:48.540 --> 00:10:51.460 They just describe the way life is, the way the world works. 00:10:52.600 --> 00:10:55.460 They're about having a proper perspective about poverty, 00:10:55.460 --> 00:10:59.480 and then the fourth and fifth thread are action threads, 00:11:00.280 --> 00:11:05.759 and those are the ones that teach us how to act on that basis. 00:11:06.080 --> 00:11:11.360 So, I don't know if you've ever done these Bible drills as you were a kid 00:11:11.360 --> 00:11:13.360 where you, you know, keep your Bible closed, 00:11:13.460 --> 00:11:15.960 and then someone announces the verse, and you race to see who can get there first, 00:11:16.020 --> 00:11:17.220 but we're going to look at a lot of verses. 00:11:17.540 --> 00:11:19.020 We're going to kind of work our way through the book, 00:11:19.200 --> 00:11:21.759 and let's start in Proverbs 10, 15. 00:11:22.379 --> 00:11:23.960 Proverbs chapter 10, 15. 00:11:26.139 --> 00:11:30.340 The book of Proverbs is not going to give us a list of rules for how to treat the poor. 00:11:30.340 --> 00:11:35.320 However, it's trying to shape in us a theological worldview that has implications. 00:11:36.920 --> 00:11:41.820 It's trying to shape in us a theological worldview that is based in the fear of the Lord 00:11:41.820 --> 00:11:46.639 and determines how we make decisions, even about something as practical as money. 00:11:47.620 --> 00:11:49.379 So, let's look at Proverbs 10, 15. 00:11:49.560 --> 00:11:55.940 The first thread describes the first reality, which is the poor are vulnerable. 00:11:56.900 --> 00:11:58.160 The poor are vulnerable. 00:11:58.159 --> 00:11:59.819 Look at Proverbs 10, 15. 00:11:59.919 --> 00:12:03.259 A rich man's wealth is his strong city. 00:12:04.259 --> 00:12:06.779 The poverty of the poor is their ruin. 00:12:08.120 --> 00:12:13.120 In the ancient world, there were many, many dangers out in the countryside around the cities. 00:12:13.339 --> 00:12:14.360 There were wild animals. 00:12:15.079 --> 00:12:15.799 There were bandits. 00:12:16.179 --> 00:12:19.959 There was the threat of a surprise attack from an enemy army. 00:12:20.839 --> 00:12:25.500 And the only thing standing between you and all the dangers that were out there in the middle of the night 00:12:25.500 --> 00:12:30.460 were the walls of your city that you could run inside and hide behind if the need arose. 00:12:30.460 --> 00:12:36.860 And in spite of all the dangers, and even though your house itself was pretty small and pretty rickety 00:12:36.860 --> 00:12:40.759 and you had a thatched roof and everything, even though it wasn't much, 00:12:40.780 --> 00:12:44.019 you could sleep well at night knowing that there would be no nasty surprises. 00:12:44.980 --> 00:12:52.120 Because the howls of the wolves and the clank of the army of the soldiers was out there on the other side of that wall. 00:12:52.120 --> 00:12:55.220 Wealth is kind of like that, isn't it? 00:12:55.220 --> 00:12:58.720 Because the wealth of a rich man is his strong city. 00:13:00.419 --> 00:13:02.500 You can sleep well at night if you have money. 00:13:03.720 --> 00:13:05.060 Did your furnace just break? 00:13:06.320 --> 00:13:07.740 Well, that's a huge hassle. 00:13:08.440 --> 00:13:09.360 But just fix it. 00:13:10.860 --> 00:13:12.019 Did your car break down? 00:13:13.779 --> 00:13:15.840 Again, no one wants to go through that. 00:13:15.980 --> 00:13:17.940 It's kind of a pain, but just take it to the shop. 00:13:18.940 --> 00:13:20.279 You have an unexpected bill? 00:13:20.379 --> 00:13:21.259 Then let's just write a check. 00:13:21.259 --> 00:13:27.460 You can afford a lawyer or an accountant or a financial advisor. 00:13:28.899 --> 00:13:31.539 But look at the second line in this verse in 1015. 00:13:31.679 --> 00:13:34.600 The poverty of the poor is their ruin. 00:13:35.879 --> 00:13:39.460 Ruin here means the ruins of the city, the ruins of the wall. 00:13:40.679 --> 00:13:47.480 Imagine the uncertainty of sleeping out at night in a wild land with no city walls around you, just the rubble. 00:13:47.480 --> 00:13:52.440 And as you try to drift off to sleep, you hear the howls of the wild animal. 00:13:53.980 --> 00:13:58.000 Something, a branch cracks and you wonder who's trying to sneak up on you in the dark. 00:13:58.000 --> 00:14:00.279 You're vulnerable. 00:14:00.360 --> 00:14:01.919 It's stressful. 00:14:03.779 --> 00:14:05.740 This is the misery of poverty. 00:14:07.220 --> 00:14:09.059 Constantly exposed to uncertainty. 00:14:09.340 --> 00:14:14.059 And knowing that when tragedy strikes, you will not have the resources to get out of it. 00:14:15.399 --> 00:14:17.080 You're dependent upon other people. 00:14:17.960 --> 00:14:19.659 You don't prioritize your wants. 00:14:19.659 --> 00:14:21.219 You prioritize your needs. 00:14:22.279 --> 00:14:25.759 That is a hard way to spend the night and it's a hard way to live. 00:14:27.199 --> 00:14:30.219 Let's flip over a couple of chapters to Proverbs 19.6. 00:14:30.220 --> 00:14:32.660 Look at 19.6. 00:14:37.060 --> 00:14:37.920 It says this. 00:14:41.019 --> 00:14:48.019 Many seek the favor of a generous man and everyone is a friend to a man who gives gifts. 00:14:48.560 --> 00:14:50.759 Many seek the favor of a generous man. 00:14:50.840 --> 00:14:54.580 Yeah, that's because if you have money, people want a piece of that. 00:14:55.600 --> 00:14:55.759 Right? 00:14:55.879 --> 00:14:57.620 Everyone's coming looking for donations. 00:14:57.620 --> 00:15:00.340 They promise that if you give a certain amount of money to their organization, 00:15:00.480 --> 00:15:02.779 they will put you in the ambassador's club. 00:15:04.060 --> 00:15:06.600 If you give enough money, they will put you in the gold circle. 00:15:07.019 --> 00:15:10.480 They'll take a brick and put your name on it and put it up in the wall for all time 00:15:10.480 --> 00:15:13.240 to honor you as someone who has given money. 00:15:13.799 --> 00:15:15.740 We want the wealthy to live in our neighborhoods. 00:15:16.139 --> 00:15:19.860 We want the wealthy to sit on our school boards and sometimes on our church boards. 00:15:20.620 --> 00:15:23.340 If you have money, you have automatic influence. 00:15:25.200 --> 00:15:27.060 But contrast this with the next verse. 00:15:27.059 --> 00:15:28.099 Look down at verse 7. 00:15:29.839 --> 00:15:32.899 All a poor man's brothers hate him. 00:15:34.039 --> 00:15:36.399 How much more do his friends go far from him? 00:15:36.459 --> 00:15:39.699 He pursues them with words but does not have them. 00:15:40.559 --> 00:15:45.759 Everyone seeks out the rich, but even the poor man's brothers reject him 00:15:45.759 --> 00:15:51.699 because he's a burden, because he's of no practical use. 00:15:51.700 --> 00:15:55.360 There's no trickle down from the poor. 00:15:56.340 --> 00:16:00.259 He isn't going to help anyone with networking or further their careers 00:16:00.259 --> 00:16:04.200 or provide them with a better job or give them some sort of profit in business. 00:16:05.460 --> 00:16:09.000 And so whereas the rich man is actively attracting friends, 00:16:09.480 --> 00:16:14.440 the poor person cannot even maintain those relationships that should be automatic, 00:16:15.180 --> 00:16:16.259 like brothers. 00:16:16.259 --> 00:16:22.279 Now, the book of Proverbs is not saying that this situation is good or bad. 00:16:22.379 --> 00:16:23.939 It's not evaluating anything here. 00:16:24.000 --> 00:16:25.340 It's just describing reality. 00:16:26.279 --> 00:16:29.500 It's simply true that it is hard to be poor. 00:16:30.919 --> 00:16:33.019 It comes with a low social status. 00:16:34.039 --> 00:16:35.919 It comes with a lack of influence. 00:16:36.299 --> 00:16:37.639 It can feel humiliating. 00:16:37.639 --> 00:16:40.879 It often involves rejection. 00:16:43.439 --> 00:16:48.419 And it leads to vulnerability because there are all kinds of troubles in life, 00:16:48.580 --> 00:16:51.600 but without the resources to take care of those. 00:16:52.960 --> 00:16:55.840 But these Proverbs, even though they're just describing reality, 00:16:55.980 --> 00:16:59.259 they do seek to evoke compassion in us, 00:16:59.319 --> 00:17:02.439 for the rich to be compassionate about the state of the poor, 00:17:02.580 --> 00:17:05.279 to be realistic about the situation of the poor. 00:17:05.279 --> 00:17:11.119 And when the rich are wrangling over politics or property values or unemployment rates, 00:17:11.200 --> 00:17:13.240 it's so easy to think in terms of statistics. 00:17:14.599 --> 00:17:18.379 You hear people on TV blaming the poor for being poor 00:17:18.379 --> 00:17:21.259 or talking about the problem of poverty in society. 00:17:21.420 --> 00:17:23.180 But often it's just statistics. 00:17:24.240 --> 00:17:26.639 But here in Proverbs, we have some realism. 00:17:26.839 --> 00:17:27.539 This is hard. 00:17:27.859 --> 00:17:29.180 This is a hard way to live. 00:17:30.019 --> 00:17:31.579 No one wants to camp out in the ruins. 00:17:35.279 --> 00:17:39.899 The poor, though, can look at these verses and know that God has compassion on them 00:17:39.899 --> 00:17:43.480 because there is acknowledgement about the difficulty. 00:17:46.339 --> 00:17:48.099 The second thread that we want to look at, 00:17:48.240 --> 00:17:49.839 the second thread, reality number two, 00:17:50.000 --> 00:17:53.859 is that character, virtue, is more important than wealth. 00:17:56.200 --> 00:17:58.059 Let's look at Proverbs 16.8. 00:17:58.059 --> 00:18:01.159 Proverbs 16.8. 00:18:01.279 --> 00:18:04.059 So we'll go back now and we'll go back through again. 00:18:04.200 --> 00:18:05.179 Proverbs 16.8. 00:18:05.339 --> 00:18:06.839 It is difficult to be poor. 00:18:08.460 --> 00:18:12.119 And in fact, the poor are so vulnerable that it seems like it would make sense 00:18:12.119 --> 00:18:15.359 that almost anything would be worth avoiding poverty. 00:18:16.599 --> 00:18:19.019 It seems like that if we're looking for the good life, 00:18:19.139 --> 00:18:22.899 almost anything would be worth getting wealth. 00:18:22.900 --> 00:18:28.759 But Proverbs says we have to keep wealth in proper perspective and not overvalue it. 00:18:29.360 --> 00:18:32.180 As powerful as money is, and it is powerful, 00:18:33.160 --> 00:18:36.400 there are many things in life that are more important than money. 00:18:37.440 --> 00:18:38.680 Look at Proverbs 16.8. 00:18:38.800 --> 00:18:43.380 Better is a little with righteousness than great revenues with injustice. 00:18:44.519 --> 00:18:46.820 This is one of the so-called better than Proverbs, 00:18:46.819 --> 00:18:54.639 which says that something A with B is better than the opposite of A along with the opposite of B. 00:18:54.740 --> 00:18:56.659 In other words, poverty is not good. 00:18:57.599 --> 00:19:02.200 But righteousness is so important that it is worth having righteousness 00:19:02.200 --> 00:19:04.339 even if poverty comes along with it. 00:19:05.619 --> 00:19:06.500 That's quite a statement. 00:19:07.980 --> 00:19:11.839 These better than Proverbs in the book are intended to teach the value of virtues, 00:19:12.000 --> 00:19:15.419 but they also prioritize those virtues way above wealth. 00:19:15.420 --> 00:19:21.500 Wealth and poverty are inconsequential categories compared to the importance of righteousness. 00:19:22.720 --> 00:19:24.660 Listen to these examples quickly as I read them. 00:19:24.720 --> 00:19:25.240 We won't turn there. 00:19:25.320 --> 00:19:25.779 Listen quickly. 00:19:26.019 --> 00:19:26.980 Proverbs 16.16. 00:19:27.320 --> 00:19:32.880 How much better to get wisdom than gold to get understanding is to be chosen rather than silver. 00:19:33.640 --> 00:19:34.680 Proverbs 16.19. 00:19:34.840 --> 00:19:40.100 It is better to be of lowly spirit with the poor than to divide the spoil with the proud. 00:19:41.240 --> 00:19:42.380 Proverbs 17.1. 00:19:42.380 --> 00:19:50.640 Better is a dry morsel, like a dry crust of bread, with quiet than a house full of feasting with strife. 00:19:51.680 --> 00:19:52.780 Proverbs 19.1. 00:19:52.860 --> 00:19:58.720 Better is a poor person who walks in his integrity than one who is crooked in speech and is a fool. 00:19:59.460 --> 00:20:01.120 And finally, Proverbs 22.1. 00:20:01.119 --> 00:20:07.179 A good name is to be chosen rather than great riches and favor is better than silver or gold. 00:20:08.239 --> 00:20:11.539 Let's just quickly list all the things that are more important than money. 00:20:12.219 --> 00:20:20.019 Righteousness, justice, wisdom, insight, humility, peace and quiet, blamelessness, and a good reputation. 00:20:20.199 --> 00:20:22.479 All of those are more important than having money. 00:20:22.480 --> 00:20:30.099 On their face, these Proverbs are prioritizing virtues over wealth, but they are also making some other claims sort of indirectly. 00:20:31.180 --> 00:20:32.660 First of all, it's interesting. 00:20:32.779 --> 00:20:38.940 We're seeing a little bit of an alignment here between poverty and piety and wealth and wickedness. 00:20:40.539 --> 00:20:45.519 Proverbs does not say that it's wrong to be rich or that the poor are necessarily righteous, 00:20:45.519 --> 00:20:53.180 but it does raise some questions with these alignments, perhaps about the temptations that the wealthy face. 00:20:54.339 --> 00:20:59.559 Second, these Proverbs teach that wealth is not everything that it's cracked up to be. 00:21:00.779 --> 00:21:02.819 A rich person may have a terrible reputation. 00:21:03.980 --> 00:21:06.279 Great revenue is associated with injustice. 00:21:07.559 --> 00:21:09.359 Feasting is associated with fighting. 00:21:09.359 --> 00:21:18.359 But the poor person, even as he sits at home and nibbles on his crust of bread, enjoys peace and quiet with a clear conscience. 00:21:19.639 --> 00:21:21.319 And he is in a much better place. 00:21:22.779 --> 00:21:29.599 The question is, how can it possibly be true that it's better to be virtuous than it is to be rich? 00:21:29.619 --> 00:21:31.099 How can that possibly be true? 00:21:31.959 --> 00:21:37.000 I mean, from a secular perspective, this sounds like some kind of an opiate or something, right? 00:21:37.000 --> 00:21:41.000 Some sort of a con job. 00:21:41.339 --> 00:21:45.559 Something you say to the poor so that they will be content and won't revolt. 00:21:45.680 --> 00:21:49.559 It's okay to be poor because you can be good. 00:21:50.660 --> 00:21:52.400 You know, the poor person says, oh, great. 00:21:53.140 --> 00:21:53.839 Thanks a lot. 00:21:56.319 --> 00:22:03.299 But for the one who fears the Lord, these virtues are better than wealth because these virtues are so important to God. 00:22:03.299 --> 00:22:05.659 Wealth is neutral. 00:22:06.879 --> 00:22:13.460 In some ways, whether you are rich or poor is sort of irrelevant, like how tall you are, where you were born. 00:22:13.639 --> 00:22:18.119 But virtues are motivated by the knowledge that there is a God who is watching. 00:22:19.519 --> 00:22:22.759 He is watching over the affairs of humanity and ensuring justice. 00:22:22.759 --> 00:22:32.059 And that's why it is so much more important to be virtuous and temporarily deprived than it is to be at odds with God and the target of his retribution. 00:22:33.579 --> 00:22:39.859 The good life does not come from wealth, but from aligning ourselves with God's truth and taking the long view. 00:22:41.460 --> 00:22:45.299 We want to set ourselves up for permanent blessing at his hand. 00:22:45.299 --> 00:22:50.759 And this is also a reminder that covetousness is a sin. 00:22:52.779 --> 00:22:55.819 Covetousness and envy are sins if you are rich. 00:22:56.960 --> 00:23:00.180 And covetousness and envy are sins if you are poor. 00:23:00.319 --> 00:23:03.779 In fact, this might be a particular temptation for the poor. 00:23:05.240 --> 00:23:11.359 It is easy for the poor to look at those houses in that neighborhood or those cars that those people are driving. 00:23:11.359 --> 00:23:18.659 At those clothes that were purchased at a store that is beyond their reach and think, oh man, that would be the good life. 00:23:19.899 --> 00:23:21.399 But that is idolatry. 00:23:22.619 --> 00:23:25.299 It is a contradiction of what God calls the good life. 00:23:25.679 --> 00:23:31.399 And if we fear the Lord, if we operate under a different set of values than secular society, 00:23:31.539 --> 00:23:34.899 that's because we have a different goal in mind, which is God's pleasure. 00:23:34.900 --> 00:23:41.840 And if money is not as important as virtue, that means that we can be more free in giving it away. 00:23:42.960 --> 00:23:44.100 Let's talk about that in a minute. 00:23:44.220 --> 00:23:51.140 The third thread, reality number three, is because God is the creator, he has a special concern for the poor. 00:23:51.660 --> 00:23:54.040 God has a special concern for the poor. 00:23:54.120 --> 00:23:55.660 Look at Proverbs 17.5. 00:23:56.940 --> 00:23:59.180 Look over a couple of pages there. 00:23:59.259 --> 00:24:00.540 Proverbs 17.5. 00:24:02.120 --> 00:24:04.220 Listen to this very strong verse here. 00:24:04.900 --> 00:24:09.540 Whoever mocks the poor insults his maker. 00:24:10.740 --> 00:24:13.920 He who is glad at calamity will not go unpunished. 00:24:14.620 --> 00:24:16.440 Why would we mock the poor? 00:24:17.820 --> 00:24:20.880 Well, maybe one reason is because they're fairly easy targets. 00:24:21.740 --> 00:24:22.920 They're often defenseless. 00:24:23.940 --> 00:24:27.060 Maybe it makes us feel better about ourselves in some way. 00:24:29.340 --> 00:24:33.860 But notice it doesn't say here if you oppress the poor, you're in trouble. 00:24:33.859 --> 00:24:37.559 It doesn't say if you cheat the poor, God's going to be angry. 00:24:37.719 --> 00:24:39.439 It says if you insult the poor. 00:24:39.579 --> 00:24:43.639 Merely insulting them is a deep offense to God. 00:24:43.640 --> 00:24:47.120 Insulting the poor makes us an enemy of God. 00:24:48.880 --> 00:24:54.360 Like picking on a little kid on the playground and then all of a sudden, here comes big brother and you, oops, whoopsie. 00:24:54.960 --> 00:25:02.480 Or you're out in the woods and there's a little defenseless bear cub and you poke the bear cub with sticks and then here comes the mama bear ready to tear you to shreds. 00:25:02.480 --> 00:25:02.980 Right? 00:25:03.700 --> 00:25:05.079 The poor just look defenseless. 00:25:05.220 --> 00:25:06.420 They're not really defenseless. 00:25:06.519 --> 00:25:12.380 They only look that way because whoever gloats over them will not go unpunished. 00:25:12.640 --> 00:25:13.960 We will not get away with that. 00:25:14.900 --> 00:25:17.099 Flip over a couple of pages to 22.2. 00:25:17.480 --> 00:25:18.599 Preverbs 22.2. 00:25:18.599 --> 00:25:27.879 Sometimes it seems like the rich and the poor don't have very much in common because, again, they drive different cars and they often live on different sides of town. 00:25:28.000 --> 00:25:29.500 They have different types of jobs. 00:25:30.159 --> 00:25:33.519 Sometimes they even talk differently or have different amounts of education. 00:25:33.939 --> 00:25:35.619 Sometimes it seems like they are really quite different. 00:25:35.719 --> 00:25:37.379 But look at Proverbs 22.2. 00:25:38.099 --> 00:25:40.299 The rich and poor meet together. 00:25:40.419 --> 00:25:41.740 That means they are the same. 00:25:42.519 --> 00:25:45.059 And the Lord is the maker of them all. 00:25:45.059 --> 00:25:50.419 As creatures of God, the rich and the poor are equal. 00:25:52.079 --> 00:25:57.379 A person's value is not determined by how much money they have but because they were made by God. 00:25:59.220 --> 00:26:00.399 I have two daughters. 00:26:00.559 --> 00:26:03.419 I have an older daughter named Lauren and a younger daughter named Kate. 00:26:03.519 --> 00:26:12.440 And when Kate was born and we brought her home from the hospital, her older sister was two years old and she was really excited to have a baby sister. 00:26:12.440 --> 00:26:17.019 She was really interested in her and could not wait until she was a little bit older and they could play together. 00:26:18.340 --> 00:26:21.960 But as they grew older, there were some inevitable tensions in our home. 00:26:22.000 --> 00:26:27.400 And I remember a couple of times they would be off on the side of the, one side of the room sort of playing together. 00:26:27.620 --> 00:26:30.460 And they would maybe start to fight over a toy or something. 00:26:30.559 --> 00:26:32.460 And they would fight back and forth and tug. 00:26:32.820 --> 00:26:36.100 And then finally my older daughter Lauren would say, she would get mad. 00:26:36.160 --> 00:26:38.059 She would say, no, my mommy. 00:26:39.140 --> 00:26:39.640 We would say. 00:26:39.640 --> 00:26:43.560 Tracy and I would think, my mommy, what is that, a swear word or something? 00:26:43.700 --> 00:26:46.400 It was just so strange and so irrelevant. 00:26:46.600 --> 00:26:48.180 I mean, Tracy wasn't even anywhere near. 00:26:49.380 --> 00:26:54.660 Then we realized that it was a way that she was trying to assert her dominance. 00:26:55.600 --> 00:26:55.980 Right? 00:26:56.120 --> 00:26:58.680 That she was the one who belonged in this family. 00:26:59.759 --> 00:27:02.080 Not this new little infiltrator. 00:27:02.079 --> 00:27:08.279 And so it's hard for us not to laugh because, of course, we love both of our girls. 00:27:09.539 --> 00:27:11.119 They both belong in our family. 00:27:11.199 --> 00:27:16.079 And the irony is that the very thing that Lauren was saying in order to try and establish her dominance 00:27:16.079 --> 00:27:18.519 was the very thing that undercut that. 00:27:19.980 --> 00:27:22.720 It was a reminder of the fact that she had no real dominance. 00:27:23.419 --> 00:27:26.139 She and Kate were both members of our family. 00:27:26.259 --> 00:27:27.480 They both have the same mommy. 00:27:27.480 --> 00:27:29.900 We love them both. 00:27:30.180 --> 00:27:33.519 And when one of them hurts the other, it hurts us. 00:27:34.940 --> 00:27:36.660 God made the poor. 00:27:37.440 --> 00:27:38.579 And he loves them. 00:27:39.559 --> 00:27:42.200 And throughout the Bible, God doesn't just say he loves the poor. 00:27:42.360 --> 00:27:45.620 He says he is especially concerned for the poor. 00:27:45.720 --> 00:27:47.299 And he watches out for them. 00:27:47.299 --> 00:27:54.180 So if we fear the Lord, it doesn't matter what secular society says. 00:27:54.279 --> 00:27:58.440 If we care about what the Lord thinks, then we love the poor too. 00:28:00.659 --> 00:28:05.419 If we have some money, if we're in a particular position of influence, 00:28:05.539 --> 00:28:09.480 then we had better be very careful about the way we treat the poor. 00:28:09.480 --> 00:28:12.059 To do what is right. 00:28:12.819 --> 00:28:14.319 To pay them what we owe. 00:28:15.000 --> 00:28:18.360 To treat them with dignity because God is watching. 00:28:20.460 --> 00:28:21.579 They are his people. 00:28:22.759 --> 00:28:24.940 And so we are deeply motivated to walk carefully 00:28:24.940 --> 00:28:27.220 and to ensure that the rights of the poor are upheld. 00:28:28.339 --> 00:28:29.160 The fourth thread. 00:28:29.539 --> 00:28:30.680 This is an action thread. 00:28:31.460 --> 00:28:33.259 We must treat the poor with justice. 00:28:34.480 --> 00:28:36.240 We must treat the poor with justice. 00:28:36.240 --> 00:28:39.240 If the poor are particularly vulnerable, thread one. 00:28:39.480 --> 00:28:43.240 And if doing what is right is much more important than gaining wealth, thread two. 00:28:43.559 --> 00:28:46.740 And if, thread three, God is particularly concerned for the poor, 00:28:47.460 --> 00:28:49.319 then we must treat them with justice. 00:28:50.200 --> 00:28:53.779 Now the word justice is thrown around a lot these days by various groups, 00:28:53.880 --> 00:28:54.900 different political groups. 00:28:55.120 --> 00:28:56.819 And sometimes they have different meanings. 00:28:57.000 --> 00:29:00.660 But what the Bible means by justice is that people are treated fairly and rightly, 00:29:00.819 --> 00:29:04.160 that good behavior is rewarded and bad behavior is punished. 00:29:04.160 --> 00:29:07.180 Laws are followed. 00:29:07.360 --> 00:29:11.400 People are treated with respect and dignity without regard for whether they're rich or poor, 00:29:11.519 --> 00:29:15.040 whether they have resources or not, whether they're powerful or common, 00:29:15.480 --> 00:29:18.779 without regard for their ethnicity or their background or anything else. 00:29:18.840 --> 00:29:20.880 If there's someone who is trying to do what is right, 00:29:21.480 --> 00:29:23.920 who works hard and provides for his family, 00:29:24.160 --> 00:29:27.160 and then they are mistreated and hindered in some way, 00:29:27.220 --> 00:29:28.500 that is not justice. 00:29:28.500 --> 00:29:33.839 But on the other hand, if someone does what is wrong and steals and refuses to work 00:29:33.839 --> 00:29:36.480 and lies and is corrupt and treats other people badly, 00:29:36.599 --> 00:29:38.779 and they do not face the consequences for that, 00:29:38.980 --> 00:29:40.859 that is not justice either. 00:29:41.799 --> 00:29:43.539 Look at Proverbs 13.23. 00:29:45.700 --> 00:29:47.660 Look at Proverbs 13.23. 00:29:47.799 --> 00:29:49.500 We'll go back here for thread number four. 00:29:49.500 --> 00:29:59.420 The fallow ground of the poor would yield much food. 00:29:59.559 --> 00:30:02.119 The ground of the poor would yield much food, 00:30:02.220 --> 00:30:04.059 but it is swept away through injustice. 00:30:04.839 --> 00:30:07.400 This proverb reminds us that sometimes people are poor 00:30:07.400 --> 00:30:09.140 not because they don't have resources, 00:30:09.519 --> 00:30:10.559 but because of injustice. 00:30:11.339 --> 00:30:14.240 When you plant a seed in the soil, it will grow. 00:30:14.339 --> 00:30:16.099 It doesn't care if you're poor or rich. 00:30:16.099 --> 00:30:18.559 It doesn't know who planted it. 00:30:19.379 --> 00:30:22.419 So then why do the poor plant and they have nothing? 00:30:22.539 --> 00:30:26.419 It's because the rich or the unjust people come and sweep it away. 00:30:28.259 --> 00:30:32.219 The injustice takes away the few resources that the poor do have. 00:30:33.079 --> 00:30:34.399 If someone is being robbed, 00:30:34.480 --> 00:30:37.259 or if the rules of the economic game keep changing, 00:30:37.539 --> 00:30:40.000 or if people are taken advantage of in their vulnerability, 00:30:40.500 --> 00:30:41.839 they aren't going to succeed. 00:30:43.859 --> 00:30:45.819 Listen to Proverbs 22.22. 00:30:45.819 --> 00:30:46.839 We don't have to turn there. 00:30:47.519 --> 00:30:48.460 Listen to this proverb. 00:30:49.099 --> 00:30:52.480 Do not rob the poor because he is poor, 00:30:52.819 --> 00:30:54.899 or crush the afflicted at the gate. 00:30:55.480 --> 00:30:57.319 At the gate means in the court of law. 00:30:57.439 --> 00:31:01.379 That's where in an ancient city you had court. 00:31:02.639 --> 00:31:04.259 Don't crush the poor in court. 00:31:04.399 --> 00:31:06.700 Don't use legal proceedings or loopholes 00:31:06.700 --> 00:31:09.519 or high-powered lawyers to crush the poor. 00:31:09.740 --> 00:31:09.980 Why? 00:31:10.799 --> 00:31:12.059 Because it says in the next verse, 00:31:12.059 --> 00:31:14.119 for the Lord will plead their cause 00:31:14.119 --> 00:31:16.839 and rob of life those who rob them. 00:31:18.039 --> 00:31:18.299 Ooh. 00:31:20.200 --> 00:31:22.839 Looks at first like the poor have no protector. 00:31:23.000 --> 00:31:24.899 They can't afford that high-powered attorney, 00:31:25.519 --> 00:31:26.659 but they do have a protector. 00:31:26.919 --> 00:31:27.519 It's the Lord. 00:31:27.519 --> 00:31:32.039 If you rob the poor, 00:31:32.299 --> 00:31:34.900 the Lord will begin to do some robbing of his own. 00:31:35.180 --> 00:31:37.359 He will rob you of your life. 00:31:39.200 --> 00:31:40.900 What's particularly shocking about this 00:31:40.900 --> 00:31:42.299 is that in the ancient world, 00:31:42.779 --> 00:31:43.980 the Bible is very clear 00:31:43.980 --> 00:31:45.480 that there is no death penalty 00:31:45.480 --> 00:31:49.279 for anything involving property values. 00:31:49.460 --> 00:31:52.220 There's death penalty for a wide number of sins, 00:31:52.220 --> 00:31:55.420 but not for crimes involving theft 00:31:55.420 --> 00:31:56.779 or cheating or property. 00:31:56.900 --> 00:31:57.620 But yet here, 00:31:57.960 --> 00:32:00.180 God threatens the oppressor with death 00:32:00.180 --> 00:32:01.860 if he robs the poor. 00:32:04.039 --> 00:32:05.700 From a secular perspective, 00:32:05.940 --> 00:32:06.799 injustice is wrong 00:32:06.799 --> 00:32:08.440 because it's an offense against humanity 00:32:08.440 --> 00:32:10.279 or it's an offense against society 00:32:10.279 --> 00:32:15.539 or because it denies someone access to something. 00:32:15.640 --> 00:32:16.980 But from a biblical perspective, 00:32:17.140 --> 00:32:18.400 for the one who fears the Lord, 00:32:18.799 --> 00:32:20.779 these reasons are just weak and thin. 00:32:20.779 --> 00:32:25.740 It's troubling because God is the maker of them all 00:32:25.740 --> 00:32:28.420 and injustice is not just a crime 00:32:28.420 --> 00:32:29.899 or an offense against a person, 00:32:30.059 --> 00:32:32.119 it's an offense against God as creator. 00:32:33.460 --> 00:32:35.339 When one of his creatures is corrupt 00:32:35.339 --> 00:32:37.279 and cheats or steals from another, 00:32:37.399 --> 00:32:39.440 it is a sin against God who made that person 00:32:39.440 --> 00:32:40.899 and cares for them. 00:32:45.059 --> 00:32:46.940 We have an opportunity as Christians 00:32:46.940 --> 00:32:49.079 to have our sensitive antenna up. 00:32:49.079 --> 00:32:51.079 And wherever we go, 00:32:51.199 --> 00:32:52.679 whether we're teachers at school 00:32:52.679 --> 00:32:53.939 or employers 00:32:53.939 --> 00:32:57.339 or people in any sort of influence at work 00:32:57.339 --> 00:32:58.079 or in the community, 00:32:58.240 --> 00:33:00.199 we have these sensitive antenna up 00:33:00.199 --> 00:33:02.379 and we are always looking to sniff out 00:33:02.379 --> 00:33:04.179 something that isn't right. 00:33:05.460 --> 00:33:08.220 We work to identify broken systems 00:33:08.220 --> 00:33:09.059 and broken laws 00:33:09.059 --> 00:33:10.220 and to defend the powerless. 00:33:10.399 --> 00:33:11.220 And some people know 00:33:11.220 --> 00:33:13.119 they have no advocate in the courts 00:33:13.119 --> 00:33:15.239 and they have no advocate with the police 00:33:15.239 --> 00:33:17.619 and they have no advocate with political parties, 00:33:17.759 --> 00:33:20.219 but they know they have an advocate with Christians 00:33:20.219 --> 00:33:22.699 because Christians follow God. 00:33:23.939 --> 00:33:25.239 Finally, the fifth thread. 00:33:25.919 --> 00:33:28.239 The fifth thread is we must be generous to the poor. 00:33:29.959 --> 00:33:31.459 The last thread was negative. 00:33:31.559 --> 00:33:33.219 We should not show partiality. 00:33:33.339 --> 00:33:34.619 This thread is positive. 00:33:34.759 --> 00:33:36.479 We should be generous to the poor. 00:33:36.480 --> 00:33:38.900 The poor are vulnerable, 00:33:39.120 --> 00:33:40.720 so that should evoke our compassion. 00:33:41.200 --> 00:33:42.860 Character is more important than wealth, 00:33:42.980 --> 00:33:44.440 so we can give up some of our wealth. 00:33:44.819 --> 00:33:45.980 God cares for the poor. 00:33:46.099 --> 00:33:47.200 He is generous to them 00:33:47.200 --> 00:33:48.819 and He has been generous to us, 00:33:48.920 --> 00:33:51.039 so we can be generous as well. 00:33:53.700 --> 00:33:56.579 Let's look quickly at one verse here. 00:33:56.779 --> 00:33:58.200 Proverbs 14.31. 00:34:00.200 --> 00:34:01.640 Proverbs 14.31. 00:34:01.640 --> 00:34:01.780 Proverbs 14.31. 00:34:04.700 --> 00:34:06.180 This will be our last verse. 00:34:07.540 --> 00:34:08.140 It says this, 00:34:08.220 --> 00:34:10.200 Whoever oppresses a poor man 00:34:10.200 --> 00:34:11.559 insults his maker, 00:34:11.700 --> 00:34:13.640 but he who is generous to the needy 00:34:13.640 --> 00:34:14.480 honors him. 00:34:17.180 --> 00:34:19.519 Whatever is inflicted on a poor person, 00:34:19.619 --> 00:34:20.880 whether good or bad, 00:34:20.940 --> 00:34:22.599 is inflicted upon God. 00:34:23.460 --> 00:34:26.079 If we are generous to the poor, 00:34:26.440 --> 00:34:27.380 we honor God. 00:34:29.680 --> 00:34:31.220 Here we have a straightforward 00:34:31.219 --> 00:34:33.319 and direct way of bringing God honor 00:34:33.319 --> 00:34:35.019 by being generous 00:34:35.019 --> 00:34:37.599 with His special people in need. 00:34:38.599 --> 00:34:40.279 Proverbs 19.17 says this, 00:34:40.339 --> 00:34:40.819 just listen, 00:34:40.959 --> 00:34:42.339 Whoever is generous to the poor 00:34:42.339 --> 00:34:43.539 lends to the Lord. 00:34:43.599 --> 00:34:44.139 Think about that. 00:34:44.199 --> 00:34:46.239 That implies obligation on His behalf. 00:34:46.759 --> 00:34:48.579 We lend to Him and He owes us. 00:34:49.559 --> 00:34:50.779 Whoever is generous to the poor 00:34:50.779 --> 00:34:51.739 lends to the Lord 00:34:51.739 --> 00:34:54.139 and God will repay him for his deed. 00:34:55.079 --> 00:34:57.619 We put God under our obligation 00:34:57.619 --> 00:35:00.179 when we are generous to the poor. 00:35:00.179 --> 00:35:01.399 That's a shocking statement. 00:35:02.839 --> 00:35:04.279 Why should we be generous to the poor? 00:35:05.559 --> 00:35:06.839 Well, from a secular perspective, 00:35:06.980 --> 00:35:09.179 I guess it's because we feel guilty 00:35:09.179 --> 00:35:10.440 for having money 00:35:10.440 --> 00:35:12.480 or because it helps us make us 00:35:12.480 --> 00:35:13.480 feel better about ourselves 00:35:13.480 --> 00:35:15.879 or it brings us some recognition. 00:35:16.079 --> 00:35:17.259 Maybe if we own a business or something, 00:35:17.339 --> 00:35:18.739 we can get some good marketing out of that. 00:35:19.799 --> 00:35:20.839 But if we fear the Lord, 00:35:20.919 --> 00:35:22.679 we have a much more serious motivation. 00:35:22.940 --> 00:35:25.639 We know that God cares deeply about the poor 00:35:25.639 --> 00:35:28.019 and He wants us to adopt His perspective. 00:35:30.639 --> 00:35:31.879 Have you ever heard about this game, 00:35:31.960 --> 00:35:32.679 Pokemon Go? 00:35:33.659 --> 00:35:35.500 You know, it's like this augmented reality 00:35:35.500 --> 00:35:37.219 where it uses the camera on your phone 00:35:37.219 --> 00:35:39.500 and then as you go outside on the sidewalk 00:35:39.500 --> 00:35:40.819 or even in your own kitchen, 00:35:40.980 --> 00:35:42.400 you can see these critters on there, 00:35:42.500 --> 00:35:43.299 these digital critters, 00:35:43.379 --> 00:35:44.099 and you try and catch them 00:35:44.099 --> 00:35:45.619 with a little Pokeball. 00:35:46.460 --> 00:35:47.219 Not that I know. 00:35:49.839 --> 00:35:51.839 Last summer, my family and I went out to the lake 00:35:51.840 --> 00:35:53.559 and there were just, 00:35:53.940 --> 00:35:55.100 we went out there on a Saturday, 00:35:55.320 --> 00:35:56.940 the lakefront was just packed 00:35:56.940 --> 00:35:58.440 with people playing Pokemon Go. 00:35:58.519 --> 00:36:00.519 Some of them even had these extra battery packs 00:36:00.519 --> 00:36:01.820 in their pocket with a cord 00:36:01.820 --> 00:36:03.559 so that their phone would last longer. 00:36:03.660 --> 00:36:05.320 They could catch even more of these little critters. 00:36:06.660 --> 00:36:07.460 But here's the thing. 00:36:09.220 --> 00:36:10.559 If you walk along the lake 00:36:10.559 --> 00:36:11.800 and you don't have your phone out 00:36:11.800 --> 00:36:12.980 and you don't have that app turned on, 00:36:13.039 --> 00:36:14.700 did you know if you don't have that on 00:36:14.700 --> 00:36:16.380 that you could miss the fact 00:36:16.380 --> 00:36:18.900 that there is a Pikachu right in front of you? 00:36:18.900 --> 00:36:22.160 Or as you turn the corner 00:36:22.160 --> 00:36:23.240 around those rocks out there 00:36:23.240 --> 00:36:24.320 that there is a squirtle 00:36:24.320 --> 00:36:25.340 just over there in the bushes 00:36:25.340 --> 00:36:26.200 and you could catch it 00:36:26.200 --> 00:36:27.559 if you just try hard enough? 00:36:27.980 --> 00:36:29.240 Yes, those are their real names. 00:36:31.280 --> 00:36:32.680 When it comes to the poor though, 00:36:32.760 --> 00:36:33.880 it's easy, it's tempting 00:36:33.880 --> 00:36:35.599 to leave our phone turned off. 00:36:37.420 --> 00:36:39.559 There are people in need all around us 00:36:39.559 --> 00:36:41.420 that if we're not tuned in, 00:36:42.559 --> 00:36:43.820 then we are not seeing the needs 00:36:43.820 --> 00:36:44.440 that are there. 00:36:47.240 --> 00:36:48.300 If we can be on the lookout 00:36:48.300 --> 00:36:49.340 for Pokemon critters, 00:36:49.500 --> 00:36:51.740 we can not just come to people 00:36:51.740 --> 00:36:52.420 who have needs 00:36:52.420 --> 00:36:53.820 when it is brought to our attention, 00:36:54.000 --> 00:36:55.640 but be on the lookout for them 00:36:55.640 --> 00:36:56.720 because we want to be 00:36:56.720 --> 00:36:58.660 God's generous representatives. 00:37:01.140 --> 00:37:02.560 If there is no God 00:37:02.560 --> 00:37:06.200 and what we see around us 00:37:06.200 --> 00:37:07.120 is all that there is, 00:37:07.160 --> 00:37:08.140 then it makes sense for us 00:37:08.140 --> 00:37:09.580 just to kind of do our own thing, 00:37:10.240 --> 00:37:12.519 to look out for ourselves. 00:37:12.640 --> 00:37:14.100 There really isn't anything more than money, 00:37:14.840 --> 00:37:15.940 so we should make sure 00:37:15.940 --> 00:37:16.840 that we get a lot of it 00:37:16.840 --> 00:37:19.019 because that's the good life. 00:37:20.280 --> 00:37:21.620 But if there is a God, 00:37:22.300 --> 00:37:23.500 if there is a God, 00:37:23.640 --> 00:37:24.140 this God, 00:37:24.220 --> 00:37:25.380 who reveals himself to us 00:37:25.380 --> 00:37:25.860 in the Bible, 00:37:26.660 --> 00:37:28.559 then that kind of life 00:37:28.559 --> 00:37:29.680 isn't the life 00:37:29.680 --> 00:37:31.579 that is going to lead 00:37:31.579 --> 00:37:33.180 to the right place. 00:37:33.240 --> 00:37:33.980 If there is a God 00:37:33.980 --> 00:37:34.920 who created the world 00:37:34.920 --> 00:37:36.300 and has ownership of us 00:37:36.300 --> 00:37:37.380 and our destinies 00:37:37.380 --> 00:37:38.400 are in his hand, 00:37:38.460 --> 00:37:39.320 if he's the one 00:37:39.320 --> 00:37:39.860 who determines 00:37:39.860 --> 00:37:40.840 what is important, 00:37:41.660 --> 00:37:42.820 then we are going to define 00:37:42.820 --> 00:37:43.579 the good life 00:37:43.579 --> 00:37:44.300 in a different way. 00:37:44.300 --> 00:37:46.800 We want to imitate God 00:37:46.800 --> 00:37:47.580 and please him. 00:37:48.560 --> 00:37:51.260 He fights for justice 00:37:51.260 --> 00:37:53.580 and loves justice 00:37:53.580 --> 00:37:54.440 of every kind. 00:37:54.560 --> 00:37:55.880 He loves to be generous 00:37:55.880 --> 00:37:57.539 and he has been generous to us. 00:37:58.539 --> 00:37:59.860 He has not withheld from us 00:37:59.860 --> 00:38:00.680 his own son. 00:38:02.440 --> 00:38:03.900 We can be generous too 00:38:03.900 --> 00:38:05.980 and represent him well 00:38:05.980 --> 00:38:07.980 in the way that we treat the poor 00:38:07.980 --> 00:38:10.060 because that is wisdom. 00:38:11.019 --> 00:38:11.660 Let's pray. 00:38:11.660 --> 00:38:11.700 Let's pray. 00:38:11.700 --> 00:38:11.720 Let's pray. 00:38:11.760 --> 00:38:11.780 Let's pray. 00:38:14.300 --> 00:38:17.660 Father, 00:38:17.940 --> 00:38:21.220 we acknowledge this morning 00:38:21.220 --> 00:38:22.100 our sin nature 00:38:22.100 --> 00:38:24.840 that encourages us 00:38:24.840 --> 00:38:26.200 to think only about ourselves, 00:38:26.340 --> 00:38:27.460 about our own power 00:38:27.460 --> 00:38:30.080 and our own influence. 00:38:31.820 --> 00:38:33.000 We also acknowledge 00:38:33.000 --> 00:38:34.380 that we swim 00:38:34.380 --> 00:38:36.360 in an extremely strong 00:38:36.360 --> 00:38:37.580 current of culture 00:38:37.580 --> 00:38:40.200 that is constantly telling us 00:38:40.200 --> 00:38:40.740 what to think, 00:38:40.740 --> 00:38:41.860 sometimes explicitly, 00:38:41.860 --> 00:38:43.680 sometimes 00:38:43.680 --> 00:38:46.780 in a very subtle way 00:38:46.780 --> 00:38:48.280 and it is hard. 00:38:48.340 --> 00:38:49.820 It is hard to do this. 00:38:50.780 --> 00:38:52.099 It is hard to let go 00:38:52.099 --> 00:38:52.599 of our money. 00:38:53.800 --> 00:38:55.280 It is hard to care 00:38:55.280 --> 00:38:55.960 for other people. 00:38:57.599 --> 00:38:59.700 We know everything in us 00:38:59.700 --> 00:39:01.059 fights against this 00:39:01.059 --> 00:39:03.980 and we confess our weaknesses. 00:39:03.980 --> 00:39:06.559 but we also know 00:39:06.559 --> 00:39:07.559 that we belong to you. 00:39:08.079 --> 00:39:09.460 You have created us. 00:39:10.460 --> 00:39:11.780 You have made this world 00:39:11.780 --> 00:39:12.639 and you have determined 00:39:12.639 --> 00:39:13.400 how it works 00:39:13.400 --> 00:39:15.000 and you have purchased us 00:39:15.000 --> 00:39:16.280 with your death 00:39:16.280 --> 00:39:16.980 and resurrection 00:39:16.980 --> 00:39:18.420 and we belong to you. 00:39:19.300 --> 00:39:20.219 And so we pray, Lord, 00:39:20.300 --> 00:39:21.940 that you would renew our minds, 00:39:23.559 --> 00:39:24.480 transform us 00:39:24.480 --> 00:39:25.639 to be like your son 00:39:25.639 --> 00:39:26.920 so that we see the world 00:39:26.920 --> 00:39:27.980 and our lives 00:39:27.980 --> 00:39:28.760 and our possessions 00:39:28.760 --> 00:39:29.740 correctly 00:39:29.739 --> 00:39:31.779 and act accordingly. 00:39:33.779 --> 00:39:34.639 We pray, Lord, 00:39:34.719 --> 00:39:35.799 that we would 00:39:35.799 --> 00:39:37.699 forsake ourselves 00:39:37.699 --> 00:39:38.939 and instead work 00:39:38.939 --> 00:39:39.959 to bring glory to you. 00:39:40.519 --> 00:39:41.559 Even in this area. 00:39:42.459 --> 00:39:43.779 In this area of money 00:39:43.779 --> 00:39:44.399 and poverty 00:39:44.399 --> 00:39:45.039 and wisdom. 00:39:45.899 --> 00:39:46.719 We need your help 00:39:46.719 --> 00:39:47.719 and we ask for it now. 00:39:48.419 --> 00:39:49.359 In Jesus' name. 00:39:50.359 --> 00:39:50.619 Amen.