Proverbs 14:20-21

Proverbs 14:20-21 "The poor is hated even of his own neighbour: but the rich hath many friends. He that despiseth his neighbour sinneth: but he that hath mercy on the poor, happy is he."

These two proverbs belong together and for all we know, Solomon may have intended one proverb between the two sentences.  Regardless of Solomon's intentions, these two statements reveal a sad fact about humanity.  They expose how much money matters to us.  They reveal the fact that we see people through an economic lens.  Money is always on our mind.  Because we need some form of payment or economic worth to survive, the average person is always thinking about financial security and supply.  We typically choose our politicians based on the state of the economy.  We usually choose our careers and communities based on economic reasons.  Money is a massive factor in nearly every decision we make.  Whether we admit it or not, finances even influence our choice of friends and partners.

This proverb exposes the pitiful reality that we gravitate towards people with money and we distance ourselves from people who don't have money.  While money can absolutely impact a person's hygiene, we don't gravitate towards the wealthy because of appearance or scent.  We instinctively gravitate towards the rich because we instinctively hope to get some of their riches.  We befriend the wealthy with hopes of partaking of their wealth.  We assist those with money with the hopes of compensation.  We accompany those we perceive are financially well off with the hopes of receiving gifts.  We even offer our services later in life thinking we may earn our way into their will.  While this isn't the case for every person all the time, it is definitely human nature.  No one has to work hard to think this way as it just comes naturally to our minds because money is always on our mind.

Any denial of this natural human mindset would be a denial of obvious evidence.  People don't gravitate to the poor.  People don't befriend the beggar on the street corner.  There are no lines of people trying to get the autograph of the man living under the bridge.  The poor aren't first on anyone's guest list for birthday parties, baby showers and bridal receptions.  The impoverished are seen as a burden to our society, not a blessing.  Because they don't have any money to give, they are treated as though they have nothing to give.  They may have wisdom and perspective to give but those aren't nearly as valuable to our society as dollars and cents.  They may have love and comfort to offer but those aren't nearly as coveted in our world as silver and gold.  In a world obsessed with survival and financial security, we value people based on their economic worth.  The more money a person potentially has to offer, the more valuable they are to us.  The less money a person potentially has to offer, the less valuable they are to us.  It is so pitiful but it is so true.

Money matters so much to us that we will choose our closest companions based on it.  It matters so much to us that we will choose spouses based on it.  We'll place a person's net worth over their eternal worth.  We'll value a person's income over their integrity.  We'll put more stock in a person's car than in their character.  Money matters so much to us that we'll unconsciously adjust our view of a person after seeing where they live or learning what job they have or knowing what family they come from.  Money plays such a crucial role in our view and treatment of others because money is always on our mind.  Being as wealthy and as wise as he was, Solomon understood that his many friends had less to do with his individual personality and more to do with his public persona.  He knew that women wanted to be his wife not for love but for luxury.  He knew that people wanted his time and attention not for his benefit but for their benefit.  He understood that the human soul is desperately bent towards selfishness and that it will choose its friends based on the highest percentage to personally benefit.
 
As much as Solomon experienced being treated so well by so many simply because he had money, he also observed how poorly people treated the poor simply because they had no money.  He didn't just observe the poor being ignored, forgotten or abandoned.  He witnessed the poor being despised and not just being despised by society but by being despised by their neighbors.  It is sad but it is true that the human soul can hate someone simply because their bank account is empty.  We value money so much and we assess a person so much based on it that we think a person without money is worth hating.  If a person doesn't have money, we quickly assume that they're lazy.  If a person doesn't have a nice house, we hastily assume that they're financially foolish.  If a person doesn't have money, we may even assume that they lack the favor of God for some immoral reason.  While any of those scenarios often are or may be true, we rarely consider that a person's poverty could be the result of tragedy such as widowhood, sickness, disability or theft.  When we observe poverty in our neighbor's life, how often do we consider God's holy hand in it such as with Job?  It is true that we can so easily hate a poor neighbor in our communities because they bring down the value of our house or because they fail to contribute to the tax burden.  It is terrible that we can so hastily hate a poor person in our lives because we think their poverty is the result of despicable character or behavior beneath our own.

It is almost astonishing that money can be so influential to our morality.  With money on our minds, we'll love people we've never met because they have money but we'll despise a person we've known for years because they don't have money.  In this proverb, Solomon noted that the rich are befriended for no good relational or moral reason but only and purely for economic reasons while the poor are hated not for any bad relational or moral reason but only and purely for economic reasons.  The rich aren't befriended because of their kindness nor are the poor hated because of their cruelty.  The wealthy aren't beloved because of their diligence nor are the poor despised because of their laziness.  The human heart instinctively chooses to love or hate based on money because money is always on the human mind.

Fortunately, Solomon condemned this natural instinct, declaring under the inspiration of the Almighty the hatred of any neighbor for any economic reason a despicable sin.  Hating a neighbor for being poor, whether he is responsible for his poverty or not, is a sin.  Hating a neighbor for being poor, whether he is lazy or foolish or just plain unfortunate, is a sin.  With that sin comes misery.  With that hatred comes unhappiness.  When money motivates hatred for the poor, it is always going to bring moral misery.  That is why these proverbs conclude by teaching us that we should choose something other than money to be on our mind.  Mercy, not money, is the virtue that ushers happiness to the soul.  When mercy is on our mind, happiness will accompany our home no matter who lives next store.  When mercy is on our mind, happiness will brighten our hearts no matter who walks alongside us.
 
Because we think we can't live without money, it's always on our mind and it carries too much weight in our view of others.  Scripture would have us think about what we really can't live without and that's mercy.  These proverbs teach us to place a higher value on mercy than we do on money.  When we place a higher value on mercy than on money, we'll see a greater opportunity with the poor than we do with the rich.  When we see a greater opportunity with the poor than with the rich, we'll find true security in showing mercy on the poor, which in itself will bring true happiness.  When we find true happiness in mercy, money won't matter so much and it will no longer be on our mind as much.  It's one or the other - Money on the Mind or Mercy on the Mind...