Mock Not

(Proverbs 17:5 KJV)  Whoso mocketh the poor reproacheth his Maker: and he that is glad at calamities shall not be unpunished.

The Bible has kings and rulers.  It recognizes class and breeding.  In the midst of that is a call to our common humanity and the universality of sin and the need for redemption.  The person who “mocketh” (3932) because of social standing is condemned.

There is a certain level of courtesy that the Bible demands.  Social snobbery is not acceptable.  We live in a day when people are putting others down for lack of education or going to the “wrong” schools.  We laugh at people with accents or clothes out of style.  God is saying, “NO!”  We have spent a lot of time in Hawaii.  We have interacted with the locals who do a lot of the repair and maintenance on the condos.  I am not talking about the “homeless,”  but the professionals who have skills and jobs.  We get along well with them but we noticed that there is a reserve that has to be overcome.  We began to realize, from direct comments and inference, that many of the tourist class and investors tended to treat them as unworthy of courtesy and respect.  They would talk to us because we saw them as people, not servants.

Here we are cautioned against mocking the “poor” (7326).  A word of balance.  We must remember this verse in the context of the entire book of Proverbs, not just the warm-fuzzy, unbiblical “brotherhood of man”.  Keep in mind that Proverbs attacks people for other qualities:  sluggard, fool, drunk.  There are traits that might be mocked, but a lack of money is not one of them.  The Bible makes a difference between the deserving poor and the lazy.  It also makes a difference between the deserving rich and the oppressor. 

Looking down on our fellow man “reproacheth” (2778a) God.  After all, we are created in the image of God.  Jesus picked up this theme as He talked about the final judgment day:

(Matthew 25:40 KJV)  And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.

So?  Do you feel superior to anyone?  Do you treat people like they are there to serve you?  Grocery clerk, teacher, waitress, wife, gardener?  Obviously the list could go on.  Remember we are sinners saved by grace.  Is today a day of repentance?  What are you waiting for?