At thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore (Ps. 16: 11)
The poor useth intreaties; But the rich answereth roughly (KJV).
Proverbs 18:23
The poor man uses entreaties, But the rich answers roughly (NKJV).
The poor man is in the natural position of a supplicant, and the rich man is in the natural position of one who bestows. Not surprisingly, these two places give rise to two very different temptations.
The poor man is in a place where he must ask for things. This by itself is not dishonorable, but the entreaties must be watched carefully so that they do not turn into a wheedling, or complaining, or flattering kind of speech. The asking must also not be considered as a substitute for actual willingness to work (2 Thess. 3:10).
The rich man’s temptation is to be brusque and no-nonsense. “No, of course not. I don’t have time for this. We are burning daylight. Just get a job, man.”
Too often the poor expect the whole world to extend sympathy. Too often the rich refuse to extend any kind of reasonable sympathy at all.
The poor man’s temptation is to look to the rich man for his deliverance. The rich man’s temptation is to the look to the rich man for his deliverance. In both cases, they are looking at the wrong source. And what this means is that the poor man is looking to some fallible “god” who is himself tempted to be ill-tempered, short, harsh, brusque, sharp, blunt, gruff, and tart. Who wants to offer up requests to a god like that?
The rich man is in a position to remember the poor, which he ought to do. He should do this so that God will remember him.
“Blessed is he that considereth the poor: The Lord will deliver him in time of trouble” (Psalm 41:1)
