Dishonest Gain and Divine Redistribution

He that by usury and unjust gain increaseth his substance, he shall gather it for him that will pity the poor.—Proverbs 28:8

A matter-of-fact Englishman, after ten years in a country parish, lamented that abstract preaching never addressed the actual temptations plaguing his neighbours—the dishonest tradesman, the cruel employer, the dissipated labourer. The pulpit offered dull platitudes while Christ's followers never asked: How would He have acted if He had vegetables to sell or horses to drive?

In days of undefiled English, wealth meant well-being. Now it describes money alone, and worth has degenerated into a term expressing how much filthy lucre one contrives to obtain. Yet a man of wealth who behaves properly deserves respect equal to his poorest neighbours—provided that wealth is honestly come by.

When greed lodges in the heart, it demands satisfaction. In uncivilised lands it turns freebooter; in Christian lands it wears respectable shapes. The rude robber stops his victim on the highway; the cunning accountant defrauds creditors and rides in his carriage. Does a just God see much difference between them?

Christian integrity receives its merited reward. Our Lord's solemn question must preserve us from evil ways: "What shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world and lose his own soul?" (Mark 8:36). Adonai's providence transfers wealth from the unjust to those who pity the poor.