Prov 6:30 People do not despise a thief if he steals to satisfy his appetite when he is hungry,

There have been times in my life when I have been hungry.  As a 12 or 13year old when I ran away from home and went without food regularly for two or three days at a time. One poignant moment when I turned away penniless from a café door late one night after days without food is recalled with strange fondness. Days and weeks without money as a young man when the local authorities changed the payments system and I was not working. Foodless days walking through the jungle as a missionary later on in life.

I can think back on so many rich experiences when through circumstances or choices I went without food for days at a time, or other seasons when I lived on bruised vegetables and packet soup for weeks at a time.

I remember as a 15-year-old having my own tiny apartment in a condemned building block, and all that was in the house was spaghetti, a tin of processed peas and the end of a bag of sugar, and that was my breakfast, lunch, and dinner for several days.

I’m struggling to remember a time when I stole to eat, although I’m sure I was tempted to. I did steal food on occasions as a young man but never to my recollection when I was penniless and hungry.

KNOWLEDGE

There is a counterbalance here in this scripture. The writer has just dealt with deliberate adultery and the consequences, and he contrasts this now against a different sort of sin that is driven by need rather than greed. There is a sense where someone stealing because they are hungry is generally understood by others, and while they do need to face the consequences of their actions, this generally does not include being despised.

UNDERSTANDING

Let’s pick one word from this verse to look closer at and see if that can help us gain a deeper insight into how God would love us to live?

The word for “despise” in Hebrew is pronounced “buz” and means to scorn, deride or despise. This word appears eleven times in the Old Testament, eight times in Proverbs, twice in the Song of Solomon, and once in Zechariah. It is translated there in the ESV as scorns, belittles, and utterly despised.

So the person who steals food because of hunger will not be belittled, scorned, or utterly despised according to the writer of proverbs. This is a counterbalance thought placed between a series of scriptures dealing with adultery, and what is said without saying, is that the person caught in adultery will be belittled, scorned, and despised.

WISDOM

Q – what choices are you making each day that takes you on the best road for your future?

STRENGTHS THOUGHT: Ideation allows our thinking to see connections in unusual places.

With our natural ability to consider issues from multiple perspectives, we can find creative solutions to problems that may vex others. We can face seemingly insurmountable challenges, and still, find a way that does not compromise our core beliefs.

Allan’s Unauthorised Version – [there is no scorning for a thief who deceives others to fulfil his desire for life when starving hungry]

PRAYER: Father, thank you for today. Help me to make decisions that protect my intimacy with you, and to intentionally help others who are in the middle of great hardships.

I so love feedback – please do scroll down and use a few moments to bless me?