Proverbial Wisdom: Who Have We Forgotten?

"The LORD permits not the just to hunger, but the craving of the wicked he thwarts." -Proverbs 10:3

Hmmm..the homeless and the starving might have something to say about this...but perhaps it's the latter part of the proverb that we need to focus on?

Injustice reigns when the wicked attempt, merely attempt, to satisfy their own selfish desires. Even those who are hungry often are the ones who most take care of each other. ABC TV recently had planted a disheveled looking man who passes out on the street to see what people would do. Take a look:



While the hungry and destitute often suffer, their hunger often subsides slightly. One often gets used to eating less or not eating every day, but what one never gets used to is being ignored by their fellow human beings. The homeless often report that they learn not to ignore the needs of others who are on the street and they begin to form a type of community, a dysfunctional one at times, but like all communities, at heart they usually have the best intentions. Wicked desires never quite hold their novelty. People get bored and move on to perhaps a different wicked desire perhaps, but often they also mend their ways. Noble and just ways are what most fulfill us and bring us closer into union with each other and with God. Jesus becomes this model of looking deeply at the intention of our desires. Even the Pharisees, who were the religious authorities of the day don't always measure up by forgetting about the hungry and poor in their midst.

When everyone else forgets, God remembers the unforgettable ones. Who have we forgotten this advent? And how will we plan to remember them?