Classic KJV - Proverbs 29:7

It is a fine thing, to care for the poor and disadvantaged, but don’t be surprised if others don’t. It’s the ancient battle between good and evil. Someone’s attitude toward the poor is a quick way to discern their character—or lack of character.

Self-Centered Perspectives

The wicked don’t lack resources or intelligence, far from it. But they do lack something else: sympathy for others in their suffering. They may try to fake it—like a politician—but they really can’t understand why anyone cares about the poor. Why? The wicked live in a self-inflicted, but self-indulgent loneliness, and ignoring the poor is its most obvious symptom. They “look out only for number one”—themselves. In the last few generations, much has been made about sexual promiscuity and perversions (especially sodomy), but the root cause is found in Ezekiel 16:49: selfishness, while the poor are ignored (Ezekiel 16:49 NLT).

Sometimes Wealth Justifies Selfishness

The wicked seem to think that wealth sanitizes or justifies evil. Let me explain. In this proverb, the wicked and the righteous are both considering the poor. Neither the righteous nor the wicked themselves, are poor. The righteous want to help the poor. The wicked don’t care. They think, “All’s well, when I’m well.” The poor themselves are at fault, and all their problems would be solved, if they were rich. The wicked see poverty as a problem to be solved simply with wealth. They think their possession of wealth itself compensates for their injustice.

Translation: poor, wicked (nouns)

The Hebrew word for poor, דּל (dāl, pronounced “dahl”), appears often in Proverbs. It refers to those who are weak and frail. Study the keyword “poor,” dahl to learn more about this word and the other words translated “poor,” but with slightly different meanings.

The Hebrew word for wicked, רשע (rā•šāʽ, pronounced “rah-sha”), is used about 250 times in the Bible. rā•šāʽ appears first in Genesis 18:23 when Abraham spoke with God about the inhabitants of Sodom and Gomorrah; about how God would not treat the righteous and the wicked the same in judgment. According to the Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament (TWOT) the word describes people who were...

“…guilty of violations of the social rights of others for they were violent, oppressive, greedy, engaged in plotting and trapping poor people, and quite willing to murder to gain their ends. In a word, they threatened the community. They were dishonest in business and in the courtroom... Both God and man saw acts of salvation as the best way to act with a wicked person....The prophet Isaiah (Isaiah 55:7) exhorted people to forsake the wicked life and turn to him [God].”

Public Policy

According to this text, gaining consensus on the proper treatment of the poor is not easy. Not everyone views the problem of poverty the same way. Poverty comes for various reasons. It can be self-induced, the result of external forces, or a combination of both. Before the problem of poverty can be properly addressed, it must be properly diagnosed, case by case. Since its causes are diverse and need discernment in each case, poverty is solved much better by private citizens, empowered by adequate tax incentives. But there’s another problem. Some people don’t care to know. I believe that here, political parties are irrelevant. Whether we’re right or left, Conservative or Liberal, Republican or Democrat, matters not. Our treatment of the poor is the key indicator of our own public and private staying power.

See Proverbs 29:14 – What is the financial secret for stable government?

Our Maker, Saviour, and Friend

Jesus had great concern for the poor.

Jesus Himself was financially poor on earth, except for a brief period, as a baby, when He was given three expensive gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. These gifts sustained His family, while they were exiled in Egypt. Jesus taught care for the poor to His disciples, who practiced it.

After His death, resurrection, and ascension into heaven, Jesus’ disciples continued to aid the poor (Galatians 2:10).