There is no wisdom like ancient wisdom
Ken MacKenzie
September 05, 2021
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Proverbs 22:1-2, 8-9, 22-23 (NIV)
1 A good name is more desirable than great riches;
to be esteemed is better than silver or gold.2 Rich and poor have this in common:
The Lord is the Maker of them all.8 Whoever sows injustice reaps calamity,
and the rod they wield in fury will be broken.9 The generous will themselves be blessed,
for they share their food with the poor.22 Do not exploit the poor because they are poor
and do not crush the needy in court,
23 for the Lord will take up their case
and will exact life for life.
It used to be said that you could tell a lot about an individual by finding out which newspaper they read. Nowadays the fact that a person might read any newspaper already speaks volumes.
Some years ago, with one eye to the household budget, but mostly in the hope of freeing up time, we stopped buying a daily paper, and subscribed instead to a weekly publication, (no plug intended), which boldly claimed to be ‘more than a news digest’ before making the even more extravagant promise to bring to its readers ‘all you need to know about everything that matters’.
We still take that journal, (the ‘Wit and Wisdom’ column alone make it worthwhile), but while we genuinely appreciate the scope of its coverage, the depth of its commentary, and the charm of its editorial team, we know that we need to look elsewhere for those things that are truly important.
One of the places in which, by the grace of God, true wisdom can be found, is in Holy Scripture — not least in the ancient Psalms and Proverbs — segments of which will feature in our readings this week.
There is, some say, nothing new under the sun, but the compilers of the Book of Proverbs ought to be recognised as true pioneers within the editorial world — in part for the inspired way in which they used what seemed like a scattergun approach to strike to the very heart of what truly matters.
Today’s wisdom may seem to focus on the poor (those whom Jesus said ‘would always be with us’) but here, in a series of rapid-fire socially attuned directives, those ancient collators, bit by bit and almost imperceptibly, shifted the spotlight and thus the responsibility, away from ‘the poor’ and onto ‘the rich’.
Ancient wisdom cries out on behalf of the poor, but the simple truth is that its bullet point challenges are directed toward the rest of us.
PRAYER:
Creator God,
in whom we live and move and have our being
and in whom we are made one;
grant wisdom, and mercy, and grace,
in equal and abundant measure,
to rich and poor alike.
AMEN.
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