The poor is disliked even by his neighbour,
but the rich has many friends.
Whoever despises his neighbour is a sinner,
but blessed is he who is generous to the poor.
Do they not go astray who devise evil?
Those who devise good meet steadfast love and faithfulness.Proverbs 14:20-22
We may be tempted to think that the statement in 20 is harsh and unfeeling, but in fact the writer is simply making a statement of fact; he is looking at life and seeing how things actually are. He is not at this point making any comment - that comes in 21. We can hardly deny the truth of what he says, at all events. The world is often a very pitiless place. The moral judgment that is passed on this in 21 is very blunt and unequivocal, and the writer calls an ugly thing by its proper name. What is said in 20 may be an accurate description of how it is in the world today, but it is certainly not something that can be tolerated by Christian people, nor is it an attitude permissible for the spiritual man. Contempt of one's fellows because of their poverty is a sin against God. There may be an association of ideas between what is said in 22a and what precedes it: to harbour inward contempt may well lead ultimately to its being expressed in outward attitude. The contrast in the two halves of 22 presents an interesting picture - on the one hand people getting together scheming mischief and evil, on the other people devising good. As a matter of fact, however, we do not usually speak of people 'plotting' or 'devising' good, and this may be the measure of how unorganised we are. It is surely a Christian duty to sit down sometimes and think out ways of doing good and showing love and kindness. We need not fear that this might seem to be forced and artificial; it is because we have made love so much a matter of casual impulse rather than a basic principle guiding our living that there is so little of it in the world and in the Church. Do we not say, when reproached for lack of care or concern, 'I never thought of doing that'? Exactly. We never thought. But we should have thought. There is a place for thinking of it. This is the point here: we are to devise good. A little thoughtfulness, a little benevolent 'scheming', might make all the difference in the world to many situations.