MODERN TAKE ON PROVERBS 22:7
09/04/14 00:46
The rich rule over the poor,
and the borrower is slave to the lender
(Proverbs 22:7)
In the contemporary context of this passage, those who have borrowed, to have the things this world offers, are slaves to the very system they are within.
I remember when we lived on money from week to week. I worried over my job and paying my bills. This caused stress in my life and in my marriage (as most). With employers that know you MUST work or you will loose things, they have a greater control over you by using your job, and paycheck, as leverage. Banks, and even the government, have much more control over you, and use your chances of loosing your things as leverage.
This pattern is a result of pride, in which we want to have all these nice things; otherwise, what will people think of us, what will we do for fun, we’ll never have anything, etc. This means, we will be a servant to our own pride quicker than anything else.
The best thing my wife and I did was to humble ourselves in the manner in which we live. We live in a way that is abnormal in America, and seen in a negative light with MOST people in this country.
The fact that we live so abnormal means we have very few bills and don’t need as much money as most. This, along with a striving to live our lives according to God, has allowed joy into our marriage like we never knew. We NEVER argue or fight anymore. That’s so hard to believe for most people, but it’s absolutely true. My employer has no leverage on me, nor does the DOT or banks. And, the government has very little leverage. I’m not worried about loosing anything: nothing means anything to me. I’m not worried about loosing money because of my dedication to God’s work: He will provide. The biggest irritation to those who try to have leverage over someone else is when the other person could really care less about what that person, with suppose power, does to them; they are happy either way.
This is the level Paul was at, and the greatest point of rest which Christ provides. People say that they have rest in Christ, but if they are honest with themselves, they don’t really. They don’t because they don’t really follow Scripture for their lives; instead, they continue in the rat race of this world. When we submit our lives, finances, and health to God, we soon see what TOTAL rest is all about.
and the borrower is slave to the lender
(Proverbs 22:7)
In the contemporary context of this passage, those who have borrowed, to have the things this world offers, are slaves to the very system they are within.
I remember when we lived on money from week to week. I worried over my job and paying my bills. This caused stress in my life and in my marriage (as most). With employers that know you MUST work or you will loose things, they have a greater control over you by using your job, and paycheck, as leverage. Banks, and even the government, have much more control over you, and use your chances of loosing your things as leverage.
This pattern is a result of pride, in which we want to have all these nice things; otherwise, what will people think of us, what will we do for fun, we’ll never have anything, etc. This means, we will be a servant to our own pride quicker than anything else.
The best thing my wife and I did was to humble ourselves in the manner in which we live. We live in a way that is abnormal in America, and seen in a negative light with MOST people in this country.
The fact that we live so abnormal means we have very few bills and don’t need as much money as most. This, along with a striving to live our lives according to God, has allowed joy into our marriage like we never knew. We NEVER argue or fight anymore. That’s so hard to believe for most people, but it’s absolutely true. My employer has no leverage on me, nor does the DOT or banks. And, the government has very little leverage. I’m not worried about loosing anything: nothing means anything to me. I’m not worried about loosing money because of my dedication to God’s work: He will provide. The biggest irritation to those who try to have leverage over someone else is when the other person could really care less about what that person, with suppose power, does to them; they are happy either way.
This is the level Paul was at, and the greatest point of rest which Christ provides. People say that they have rest in Christ, but if they are honest with themselves, they don’t really. They don’t because they don’t really follow Scripture for their lives; instead, they continue in the rat race of this world. When we submit our lives, finances, and health to God, we soon see what TOTAL rest is all about.
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