“An abundance of food is in the fallow ground of the poor, but it is swept away through injustice.”
~Proverbs 13.23
When God created the world, he filled it with potential. The earth was given to man as God’s viceregent to unleash this potential (Gen 1.28; Ps 115.16). God showed Adam in the planting of the Garden how the ground had food and beauty locked away in it. God gave Adam the keys to unlock it, making the earth fruitful. Down from the Garden following the River Pishon to Havilah, there were gold, bdellium, and onyx stones to be mined and shaped to glorify God’s sanctuary (Gen 2.11-12; cf. also Ex 25—40; 1Kg 6). Adam’s responsibility as king was to see potential, unlock it, and develop it.
Solomon is training his son to be a king. As a king, he must learn how to use his authority to unlock potential in his realm. If he uses his authority poorly or in overt rebellion, the potential that God has treasured up in the earth will not be realized. This is what Proverbs 13.23 instructs when it says, “An abundance of food is in the fallow ground of the poor, but it is swept away through injustice.” The wrong use of authority keeps the riches of God’s earth locked away, never to be enjoyed. This is not a matter of mere inconvenience for the poor or a peccadillo for the king. When authority is exercised in this manner, it is a dereliction of the duty of kings to obey the mandate God gave him and fulfill his purpose.
As with many proverbs, there is ambiguity here that may apply to many different situations. This proverb speaks to the tyrant king who, through the misuse of his authority—injustice—keeps the poor from developing the potential of his land. The king may overreach his authority and seize the land because he wants to declare it a “wetland” or a preserve for a snail darter. The farmer may have to give up hundreds of acres of farmland because a spotted oil built a nest. The land has food locked away in it, but injustice sweeps it away.
We experience this in America frequently. Overregulation paralyzes businesses because of the potential of being shut down because some ludicrous regulation created by some ignorant bureaucrat is not being followed. I live in the city of Carbondale, Illinois. Our city is named Carbondale because the original settlers in the city in the mid-1800s knew of the rich coal deposits in our area. Once a thriving area, the authorities, led by one of Illinois’ own, President Obama, pretty much locked away the coal mines, destroying the industry, and reducing the wealth in the area tremendously. The wealth is still locked away and would be good, not only for Southern Illinois but also for many other people who still need to charge their electric cars from electricity produced by coal-burning plants. Restrictions such as this exist in the oil industry, nuclear power, and other industries. There is great wealth locked away, but unjust “kings” sweep it away.
This not only happens at the civil government level, but it can happen at other levels of authority as well as people are held back from reaching their potential. Each one of us is a little plot of ground because we are descended from Adam who was made from the dust of the ground. Each of us is fallow ground that needs to be cultivated so that we may bear fruit of all kinds (cf. Gal 5.22-23). However, there are times when authorities squash this potential.
In churches, each of us is a gift to the church and for the church. The Spirit works in each of us to build up the church (cf. Eph 4.1-16; Rom 12.3-8; 1Cor 12). Authorities in the church, instead of unleashing the potential in church members, will squash it. There may be times when members need to be restrained, but there are other times in which leaders may feel threatened by the gifts of others and not let them use those gifts. Parents, instead of helping cultivate their children, want them to be always dependent so the parents will feel needed. Consequently, potential in children remains locked up. So many riches could be enjoyed, but injustice sweeps them away.
The proverb may also be understood to speak about how we use personal authority over ourselves. You may have a great amount of potential to accomplish great things, become better skilled, wealthier, or simply a more mature person. Instead, through your own poor judgment—injustice—you remain where you are, refusing to cultivate skills. You waste your time and talents on frivolous pursuits, irresponsible fun, and activities that have little to no value in making you grow up to your full potential. You’re the guy who stays flipping the burgers at McDonald’s because it is familiar and easy. You have the potential to develop skills and start your own business or make yourself invaluable to a company that will compensate you well. But you don’t develop yourself. Because of this, you can’t support a family. You hamstring yourself, losing the joys of having a wife and children. This not only affects you and your personal development. This affects your mission in God’s kingdom. You are hiding your talent in the ground, as Jesus spoke of in Matthew 25. You are a wicked servant because you are rebelling against playing your part in the kingdom by increasing your influence through business and through family. You are tyrannizing yourself through sloth.
God’s glory is to hide all the treasures of potential. The glory of kings is to search out those treasures (Pr 25.2).
Photo by Tucker Tangeman on Unsplash
