Proverbs 18:23
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The poor useth intreaties; but the rich answereth roughly.
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Financial advantage or disadvantage quickly affects our lives. The rich are conceited, have many friends, and rule over the poor (14:20; 22:7; 28:11). They grow up thinking the world moves to their tune. They think themselves independent of God and man, so they speak condescendingly to those with less. Joseph spoke harshly to his brethren to hide his gentle soul (Gen 42:7); Nabal did the same to reveal a vile heart (I Sam 25:5-11).
Discrimination by economic level is not Christian. We have been taught by our Saviour to avoid any such respect of persons (Jas 2:1-4). It is the rich who generally persecuted the saints (Jas 2:6-7), and it is the poor God has chosen rich in faith for His kingdom (Jas 2:5). God has chosen the poor of this world to confound the mighty (I Cor 1:26-31). There is no difference in Jesus Christ between a bond slave and a free man (Col 3:28)!
Riches create pride, and this consequence is hard to resist (18:11; 30:8-9). Men who seek riches seek their own destruction (I Tim 6:6-10). No wonder Jesus said it was harder for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven than for a camel to go through the eye of a needle (Matt 19:24). And that is a small hole, reader! See the comments on 10:15.
The LORD made both the poor and the rich (22:2). The rich are not self-made men, as they like to think. Riches are not by speed, strength, wisdom, understanding, or skill; they are by God's control of "time and chance" (Eccl 9:11). Rich man, why do you glory in your wealth, as if you had earned it by ability, when God gave it to you (I Cor 4:7)?
Rather than harshness, graciousness should cover all we say and do (Eccl 10:12; Col 4:6). For great grace has been given to us, regardless of how poor we are in this world. Our Lord Jesus, possessor of heaven and earth, came to earth and gently dealt with the poor of all sorts (Luke 4:18-21; 21:1-4). Let the poor rejoice; let the rich mourn their fate (Jas 1:9-11)! No man can by any means give to God a ransom for his soul (Ps 49:6-13).
Jesus blessed the poor in spirit (Matt 5:3), and His great Father promised to bless them (Is 66:2). We are all poor at the throne of God; every man, even at his best state, is absolutely destitute (Ps 39:5). It was the bankrupt publican who went down to his house justified (Luke 18:9-14). Dear God, we are broke; we entreat Thee for Thy free mercy.
Every man comes into the world just like an ass's colt (Job 11:12), but he quickly thinks he can talk harshly to others after just a few natural blessings. The poor quickly learn to humbly supplicate and beg, while the rich arrogantly speak against them with hardness. The proverb is true of natural men, but it should not describe the case of spiritual men.
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