Upper Loft Meditation - Proverbs 17

“He who mocks the poor shows contempt for their Maker;” - Proverbs 17:5a

How does one mock the poor? There are three different facets of mockery. The first is to harass with endless criticism where one ignores the positive and focuses totally on the negative. The second is to laugh and sneer, emotional slander without content. The third is to speak with disrespect and total dislike of another, as Joseph’s brothers “hated him and could not speak a kind word to him.” (Gen 37:4)

Such an attitude and behavior is an insult to God. God is offended because he values the poor. All mankind is made in God’s image.

Aitken, in his commentary (p.191), points out the progression of thought in Proverbs from mocking the poor (17:5), to despising the poor (14:21), to oppressing the poor (14:31). “What starts out in a seemingly harmless way (poking fun at the plight of the poor) soon grows into a fixed attitude (regarding them with utter contempt), which then bursts into the full flower of deeds (oppressing them).”

When you see the poor, the broken, and the oppressed in this world or in your own community, what do you see? To mock the poor is a judgment against yourself; you do not understand the heart of God.

I like a good bowl of cereal. Nothing destroys that good first bite like sour milk. Mockery of the poor is a form of sour milk heaped upon something that God has declared to be good.