Awaken the Poor

I have often thought myself to be a disciplined man. I grew up under a strongly self-disciplined father who could and would lose weight on command, lower his blood pressure when needed, and reign in his diet like it was his job. Speaking of jobs, he is the hardest worker I know and is diligent with every moment.

So, when I came to passages in Proverbs about sluggards, I usually kept reading until I found something about the wise man or working man or disciplined man. But not today. The Lord had a different message in store.

Psalm 24:30 – 34

I went past the field of a sluggard,

    past the vineyard of someone who has no sense;

thorns had come up everywhere,

    the ground was covered with weeds,

    and the stone wall was in ruins.

I applied my heart to what I observed

    and learned a lesson from what I saw:

A little sleep, a little slumber,

    a little folding of the hands to rest—

and poverty will come on you like a thief

and scarcity like an armed man.

Immediately when I started reading this, houses in my neighborhood started flashing through my mind as if I were driving past them. I could see the thorns that have grown up around the house. I can see the ground covered with weeds. One house in four in my neighborhood are overcome with weeds, thorns, and are boarded up. I’ve seen brick walls torn down, windows shattered, and trees lying on roofs unattended.

But what follows, is maybe not what you expected. I don’t look at those things and then condemn the owners for their negligence and sluggishness. Instead, it struck me for the first time that poverty is a tool of the enemy that is waiting to strike. Those that slumber for a moment, who fail in their vigilance for a second will fall to poverty in a moment.

The answer, at least from this passage, seems to be a wake-up call. A literal call to wake up the poor. Awake! Awake! Arise my neighbors! Arise and sleep no more. No longer let the silent weeds grow up around us. Don’t ignore the broken windows. Awaken us, O God. Awaken us to see the devastation that has taken place, and put us in the vigilant place of prayer and action. Come and awaken our sleepy eyes. Let us see the Dawn of Your Justice rise in our neighborhood.