9/25/2007

Proverbs 17:1-5 (NRSV)

Oppressing the poor

Better is a dry morsel with quiet
than a house full of feasting with strife.
A slave who deals wisely will rule over a child who acts shamefully,
and will share the inheritance as one of the family.
The crucible is for silver, and the furnace is for gold,
but the Lord tests the heart.
An evildoer listens to wicked lips;
and a liar gives heed to a mischievous tongue.
Those who mock the poor insult their Maker;
those who are glad at calamity will not go unpunished.