Poverty and Injustice – Proverbs 13:23

In their article, The Vicious Circle of Poverty and Injustice, OpenDemocracy.net says, “Too often, the public and policy-makers alike think of poverty as simply a lack of income. In reality, it is a multidimensional phenomenon encompassing a chronic lack of resources, capabilities, choices, security and power, all building on each other in a feedback loop of disadvantage. Therefore, eradicating extreme poverty requires tackling all these aspects, as well as improving access to basic goods such as housing, food, education, health services and water and sanitation. Access to justice plays a crucial role in all parts of this equation.”

The fallow ground of the poor would yield much food,

but it is swept away through injustice. (Proverbs 13:23, ESV)

Though we have already seen that laziness leads to poverty (10:4,5), the wise understand, as does Yahweh, that not all poverty is caused by laziness.  It has been the tacit belief among well-to-do Americans who pride ourselves in accomplishing wealth by hard work that laziness is the cause of poverty.  We don’t want to admit that there is injustice that keeps the poor person (whose field would yield much food because they are willing to work) from improving his lot.

Some of the injustice comes from fellow poor people who take advantage of their neighbors, but most of it is from those well-to-do who know the psyche of the poor and profit from it.  “Get your title back with Title Max.”  Yes, put your title to your car up as guarantee for a loan with high interest and hopefully get it back when you are able to pay off that exorbitant loan, or else lose your car to the repo man because you couldn’t.

Prejudice has kept many a willing worker from getting a good paying job.  Eventually the poor succumb to hopelessness and see poverty as their only expectation.  This proverb is a call for justice.