The Joy of Poverty

(Pro 13:8 KJV)  The ransom of a man's life are his riches: but the poor heareth not rebuke.

Both the translations I work from agree on the translation of “rebuke” (1606).  That seems to be the meaning of the Hebrew word.  It seemed a bit strange but when I looked through the translations I have I noticed that many of them took a different spin.  The International Standard Version gives a good sample of this.

(Pro 13:8 ISV) The life of a wealthy man may be held for ransom, but whoever is poor receives no threats.

Think of it as an advantage of being poor.  If you are a thief are you going to break into the house of a poor man or a rich one?  To many this seems obvious.  I am not sure that people who live in poor neighborhoods would agree that it is that simple but you understand the concept.

So?  Should we rejoice that we are not worth robbing?  I think the idea is more that our focus is different and we benefit from it.  Remember what Jesus said about a rich man and the eye of a needle.