Proverbs 23:10 hits two truths: one, don’t try to fake a property line and deprive your neighbor. Two, do not afflict the needy. Seriously. I would suggest we all re-read C.S. Lewis’ musings in Mere Christianity about the dangers of economic systems to people and to faith. Especially how he highlights that for many centuries, those who took the Old Testament seriously refused to use interest in their banking.
And we sure do—and high interest rates and usury truly hurt the needy.
Proverbs 23:20 is a great reminder as I head on vacation: watch out for those who are prone to over-doing things. Too much of good things, and too much of bad things, leads to destruction.
Proverbs 23:30 fits in with a general condemnation of those who spend too much time with wine. Multiple arguments are made about how this applies in the here and now compared to how it applied to the there and then—when Solomon writes this, water is not safe to drink very often, but mixing in a little wine makes it safe. We don’t have that issue now.
So the real question is this: if we are arguing over where “too far” is, do you think it’s better to just stay away? Perhaps so.
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To deal with SPAM comments, all comments are moderated. I'm typically willing to post contrary views...but I also only check the list once a day, so if you posted within the last 24 hours, I may not be to it yet.