Proverbs 22

The Explanation

Once there was a father. He sat with his child on his knee. The father wanted to tell something important. Not a story about far away. A story for every day.

"Listen," said the father. "I want to teach you good things." He thought about rich people. He thought about poor people. "God made them both," said the father. "Every single one."

He thought about a poor man who shares his bread. Even a little piece. "That man is happy," said the father. "God sees him."

He thought about someone angry, who shouts and scolds. "Send him away," said the father. "Then it becomes quiet again. Peaceful."

What Does This Mean?

The father looked at his child very closely. "You are little now," he said. "But you are growing up." "I will teach you," he said. "Like a little plant that you water." "Then later, when you are big, you will still know the good way."

The father also thought of someone poor. Someone nobody looked at. Someone with no money. "Never push that person away," said the father. "Never say: you don't count." "Because God himself watches. God himself stands up for him."

The Common Thread

The father thought still further. He thought of Someone who always listens. Someone who never forgets the poor. Never forgets the small. God sees. God hears. God pleads the case of someone small.

That is exactly who Jesus is. Jesus always looked at the ones no one else looked at. He sat with the poor. He ate with people others walked past. Jesus is the proof that God really does what the father says here. God does not forget the small. Not then, not now.

For You

The father took his child's hand. "Do you want to learn good things?" he asked. "Together, you and me?" "Then you will become someone who shares. Someone who helps." "Not someone who pushes small people away, but someone who sees them."

The child nodded. Slowly, the child understood. A good life is not about having much. A good life is about a good heart. About sharing bread. About being kind. About truly looking at someone.

Talk About It

Can you think of someone small, who nobody looks at? What could you do for that person?

What does it mean to you that God sees everyone, rich and poor?

Praying Together

Dear God, Thank you that you see me. Thank you that you see everyone, big and small. Help me to share. Help me to look at people nobody else looks at. Amen.