Contemplative Bible Reading

Proverbs 28:21 (New International Version)

To show partiality is not good—
yet a man will do wrong for a piece of bread.

A simple, yet profound Proverb.

America, 2009. Food is a problem here. We have too much food, and food is too convenient.

Fried potatoes are not  good for you, especially if you don’t eat them for breakfast before embarking on 12 hours of hard physical labor before your next meal. One of the things that kept prior generations from eating too many fried potatoes was the labor in preparing them and then cleaning your kitchen after wards. When was the last time you washed, pealed, washed, cut, and then fried potatoes in a frying pan. What a chore; what a mess, and what a cleanup job.

Anyways, food here and now is so convenient that we cannot imagine people doing something wrong to get a piece of bread. Why bread is everywhere, and who would want a plain piece of bread? Who cares?

Well, in many places in many times in mankind’s history, a piece of bread was a treasure, and men would do all sorts of wrong for a piece of bread.

Adjust the Proverb for inflation,

a man will do wrong for a tank of gasoline

Ever see people cut in front of other people at a gas station? That rings right out of this Proverb.

That was only a teenager I cut in front of. So what? (partiality against teenagers)

That was an old lady. She’s retired and has no place to go. I’m working. I’m in a hurry. (partiality against old ladies)

I won’t go into the partiality against people of differing color, nationalities, accent, dress, brand of car, and so on.

God, help me to love all my neighbors without being partial to whoever. Help me to keep from wrong for a piece of bread, a tank of gas, or whatever catches my eye at the moment.