‘Neither Poverty nor Riches’ — an economic prayer

The Old Testament Book of Proverbs has a variety of modern applications. Some of it is comedy and could be portrayed in an “I Love Lucy” rerun or a skit on Saturday Night Live (Prov. 25:6-8, also 17 and 24).

Most of it, though, offers good advice, such as that found in Poor Richard’s Almanac or taught by our own grandparents. It warns against laziness, wickedness, idle conversation, bad tempered friends, over-eating and drinking, hypocrisy, envy and bad judgment, among many other things. It also promotes healthy families, meaningful work, honesty, goodness, fair wages, humility, caring for society’s poor and needy members, telling the truth, and loving and serving God.

Who would guess that such a collection of seemingly trite proverbs also teaches a genuine economic morality? Hopefully, you know this since the entire Bible reveals that God has a positive bias toward people without economic means and against rich people who are not generous toward them (Prov.14:31).

In the Book of Proverbs, poverty is often systemic; that is, built into social, religious and political systems that favor the wealthy and penalize the poor (Prov. 22:7). In such cases, the government has a responsibility to intervene and help the poor (Prov. 21:1; Prov. 29:4 and Prov. 16:10-15).

Prophets like Amos, Micah, Isaiah and Jeremiah called upon the religious community and government to establish justice for everyone, especially victims of unjust systems, to form a society where: “Everyone shall sit under his own vine and under his own fig tree and no one will make him afraid, for the Lord Almighty has spoken” (Micah 4:4) and where: “Justice rolls down like a river and righteousness like a never-failing stream” (Amos 5:24).

The context of such Scriptures includes economic justice at all levels (Prov. 11:1).

The penalty for not helping the poor is the loss of effective prayer to God (Prov. 21:13), governmental action (Prov. 31:1 and 8-9) and God’s eventual wrath (Prov.11:4): “The Lord will take up the cause of the poor and plunder those who plunder them” (Prov. 22:22-23).

Two passages challenge our spirituality and discipleship in today’s bleak economy and our attitude toward it. The first is a prayer. Is it one you can pray?

“Two things I ask of you, O Lord. Do not refuse me before I die: (1) Keep falsehood and lies far from me; and (2) Give me neither poverty nor riches, but give me only my daily bread. Otherwise, I might have too much and disown you and say ‘Who is the Lord?’; or I may become poor and steal, and so dishonor the name of my God’” (Prov. 30:7-9 NIV).

The willingness to have neither poverty nor riches, but “only my daily bread” is a model economic prayer. It resists the temptation to great wealth that Jesus also experienced (Mt. 4:8) and it is consistent with the Bible’s other 2,000-plus Scriptures on poverty and justice.

How do we justify our economy where 40 million people in almost 8 million families, including 13 million children, live in poverty according to the U. S. Census Bureau?

The second passage relates to our attitude toward people living in poverty and toward church or governmental attempts to provide food, clothing, shelter, health insurance, education, work, friendship, etc. to “the Lord’s brothers and sisters” (Matt. 25:31-46). What do we say to politicians and other celebrities who have gone on record saying, for example: “I hope the economic stimulus package fails”? The Book of Proverbs provides a response to them. Are we listening?

“Whoever mocks the poor insults their Maker; whoever gloats over disaster will not go unpunished” (Prov.17:5).

Rev. Russell G. Waldrop, D. Min., LPC, is a pastoral counselor and is chaplain of Western State Hospital. Contact him at 332-8004 or .