Proverbs 13:8 A Kingdom Mindset
The ransom of a man’s life is his wealth, But the poor hears no rebuke.
Proverbs 13:8 NASB
Ransom is a beautiful word. It is the same word used of “pitch” in Genesis when God instructed Noah how to seal up the ark. It kept out the flood and was a protection, or in Noah’s world, provided an escape. It is often used as payment for a debt in order to save a life. Literally it means “a cover.”
Solomon makes a magnificent contrast. When one is paying attention to the details in life, it produces results. Knowing that I need money to live, I focus on those things which produce or squander wealth. Accumulating assets, can be the equivalent of filling up the basement with supplies, preparing for a disaster to strike. Managing my personal finances is like being the ruler over my own mini kingdom. When trouble comes, I have a hedge of protection. The mentality toward detail is like having a Minister of Finance taking inventory constantly, with resources in flux — some outflow, more inflow. Minding the minutia. Because it works.
Contrast this to the condition of the poor. There are few resources for the individual to govern. The internal Minister of Finance received a pink slip since he was not needed. The poor’s life is not about being overwhelmed with choices or managing financial risks, but more about simply surviving day by day. Where is my next meal? Where do I sleep? How do a manage to make it to another day? There is neither need or capacity for managing the minutia. That tooth pain? Deal with it. That suspicious mole transforming into an ugly shape on my neck? What remedy may I seek when I have no funds to pay for help. The value of life is daily in the balance. Who would come after me? Who could possibly think I could provide any “ransom?” In the poor’s mind, there is only the need to manage the biggest crisis — which is this moment. There is no such thing as minutia. Introspection. Fine tuning a bad behavior.
Wealth is the fruit of my work and life. If circumstances come in which my life or comfort is threatened, I may draw upon those resources — if they could possibly help. The poor, on the other hand, have no such reservoir. No “rainy day fund.” When tragedy comes, they pay the consequences. If there is any lesson or “rebuke” that comes from experiencing the failure in his circumstances, it is only one of the many, many voices shouting inside his head — he is literally, unable to hear. What further loss could he experience?
The rich and poor have their differences, yet, they are both loved and valued by God alike. When I think of differences between opposite types of people, the good and bad, the thoughtful and thoughtless, the careful or the risk-takers, I often think of an uncrossable chasm. But people are still people, aren’t they? They don’t change. Yet in my Father’s sight, this chasm is not as huge as it seems. The things which separate me from others are little choices, circumstances, and nuances which I interpret to mean more than they do. I find it curious that poverty and wealth are not just a condition, but more than that they are a mindset. A way of thinking or believing. One feels they have power in this world, the other feels very much like a victim. Once one has experienced either, or both, it is difficult to migrate between the two. Why would I? The mindset is entrenched. It is what is known. But neither need to be the predictor of the health or wealth of my soul when considering the eternal God.
There are many stories of children who are born to poverty, trained in its harshness and reality, students at the foot of need — and still they choose their way out of it. A child is not bound by their parents choices. But in that child, he or she must believe that they can be different. But what about an adult? As difficult as it is for a child to be come a first generation college student, or believer, it’s even more difficult for an adult with engrained beliefs and behaviors. When I was 18 years old I heard the words, “you are a new creation in Christ.” Every time I compared my behavior with that which I learned from my parents, I knew I wanted more and better than they experienced. But it was at my “new birth” that I discovered the power of the Holy Spirit to make that a reality in my life. Change is possible. It’s unlikely — in the world’s eyes — but possible. The impossible is possible with God.
Christ was not born rich, yet he was a king. He heard the words of his Father and became the Living Word. Poor or rich may be indicators of both my history and trajectory, but as Jesus lived it out — wealth is irrelevant to the most important topics in life — unless it is my god.
“…have the same mindset as Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very disposition as a servant, being made in the likeness of fallen man. And being found as such, he humbled himself — becoming obedient to death— even death on a cross! Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”
Philippians2:5-11