Getting It

For Wednesday, February 20, 2008
Proverbs 29:7

A righteous man knows the rights of the poor;
a wicked man does not understand such knowledge.

The wicked man just doesn't get it. His brain does not comprehend the concept of justice. To him, the winnings go to the rich and the powerful. Life is about getting to the top and staying on top. To him, this is the ways things are. Indeed, it is his code. He does not complain about not being treated mercifully. He doesn't expect anything to be given him. He doesn't assert his rights. Instead, he tries to play the system of beating rivals. He might get angry if he loses, but he doesn't think of appealing to justice.

The righteous man knows there is a code determined divinely under which all creatures are to live - great and small, rich and poor. The "rights of the poor" are divinely instituted. Furthermore, he understands that in relation to God everyone is poor. There is no strong man who can assert himself above anyone else and certainly not God. To respect the rights of the poor is a concession that God is the one who sets the code and that we are all under obligation to obey him. "Rights" are not about asserting what we have coming to us, but of asserting that there is such a thing as justice that does not bend to anyone's power or position.

The righteous man gets it; the wicked man does not. The result is seen in the way they live and treat others. One will bear good fruit as a result, the other will bear sour fruit. One will inherit the kingdom of God, the other will go to his destruction. Such are the stakes for "getting it."

To Sing and Rejoice

For Monday, February 18, 2009
Proverbs 29:6

An evil man is ensnared in his transgression,
but a righteous man sings and rejoices.

The wicked create their own trouble. Because they deceive, steal, and commit violence, they expose themselves to the same troubles. They create enemies. Even the traps they lay for others, often end up being their undoing.

But the righteous are often free of what plagues the wicked. They typically do not make enemies. There may be enemies, but such foes exist because of their own wickedness, not because the righteous had done them wrong. The righteous has friends and the just arm of the law on their side, providing further protection. They do not worry about what the law will do to them.

Their greater reason for being able to sing and rejoice without fear is the peace of their conscience. They do not wake up in the morning worried about the repercussions of their actions from the night before. They do not worry about what friend has turned into an enemy. Indeed, their sing and rejoicing is done in the presence of their many friends.

The greatest reason for the singing and rejoicing is the status they have before God. For righteousness is not ultimately about keeping all the rules, but of walking with one's Lord, and to know him, to walk under his blessing is to be blessed indeed. Do you have a song to sing today?