Proverbs 22 : 1 - 2 God made them all

Pro 22:1  A good name is better than great riches: and good favour is above silver and gold.
Pro 22:2  The rich and poor have met one another: the Lord is the maker of them both

First of all, I would like to thank Tonya for a wonderful series of studies over the last week or so --- weren't they great? It meant a lot to me and has made a difference already in the way I treat the relationship with my hubby.  She was able to remind me of things that I have known, but have not paid enough attention to! Thanks, Tonya!

I may have mentioned before that we homeschooled our three kiddos until college . . . one of the subjects on their curriculum was Bible. Not just during devotions, but a full scale study of a portion of the Word, each year.  I can remember several times when they were in grade school, they would look at me with puzzled faces and say "Mom, why is THIS in the Bible? These people did exactly the wrong thing (or said the wrong thing, or whatever)."  I would tell them that sometimes God inspired writings that would show us what NOT to do, as well as what we SHOULD do.

We've noted before that it is easy for us to slip into the world's way of looking at people. "Clothes make the man (or woman)" is the message being trumpeted by the commercials and magazine ads. And indeed, people who are dressed nicely do get treated better than the ones who are not handsomely dressed. This was a problem in the early Christian church, too. Just listen to James as he exhorts his readers:

 My brothers and sisters, believers in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ must not show favoritism. ² Suppose a man comes into your meeting wearing a gold ring and fine clothes, and a poor man in filthy old clothes also comes in. ³ If you show special attention to the man wearing fine clothes and say, “Here’s a good seat for you,” but say to the poor man, “You stand there” or “Sit on the floor by my feet,” ⁴ have you not discriminated among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts?

⁵ Listen, my dear brothers and sisters: Has not God chosen those who are poor in the eyes of the world to be rich in faith and to inherit the kingdom he promised those who love him? ⁶ But you have dishonored the poor. Is it not the rich who are exploiting you? Are they not the ones who are dragging you into court? ⁷ Are they not the ones who are blaspheming the noble name of him to whom you belong?
⁸ If you really keep the royal law found in Scripture, “Love your neighbor as yourself,” you are doing right. ⁹ But if you show favoritism, you sin and are convicted by the law as lawbreakers.

Apparently it (favoritism) was just as much a problem in the early church, as it was in Solomon's time, and it's still a problem today.  And it's in the Word so that we can learn from it, right?

Lord, help me to have a heart for the poor, as you did. And then help me to "walk the walk" and show that love.