Proverbs 29:7
A righteous man knows the rights of the poor; a wicked man does not understand such knowledge.
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“The other day my wife called me — ‘Baby… the lights are out. Did you pay the bill?’ And in that moment, my heart dropped! And I was like, “Yea I…hold up…Oh snap!”
You know what happened next — we’re on the phone with the company like:
“Hey, we’ve got the money… I just forgot to make the payment. I know…I know…I’ll pay the extra to get it turned back on.”
But let’s keep it real…
It’s one thing when the lights go out because you forgot.It’s a whole ‘other thing’ when the lights go out and… there’s no money to turn them back on.
That’s a different kind of silence.A different kind of scramble.A different kind of ache.
👉🏾 And that difference — right there — is called the empathy gap.
📖 The Bible has — “Such Knowledge”
This gap might not even seem like a big deal to some.But to heaven? It’s everything.
Proverbs 29:7 says,
“A righteous man knows the rights of the poor; a wicked man does not understand such knowledge.”
That word know in the Hebrew — יָדַע (yada) — isn’t head knowledge.
It’s immersion. It’s heart knowledge. It’s the kind of knowing that gets under your skin. It’s the kind of knowing that remembers the dark, even if the sun is shining on you. It’s the kind of knowing that says, “I could imagine…cause I’ve been there.”
👉🏾 People aligned with the Divine (that’s what it means when the bible uses the word “Righteous”) They don’t just notice pain…they step inside it. They boldly go where someone else has been, and allow themselves to feel the lived experience of others.
That’s the difference between
“I saw come across my feed.” and “I felt that in my chest — and had to stop.”
That kind of empathy ain’t soft. It’s sacred intelligence forged in personal experience, alignment, and proximity.
But ahhh…the wicked — the twisted (that’s what means when the bible uses the word “Wicked”) — They don’t have “such knowledge”. It’s not that they won’t care. It’s that they’ve never developed the capacity to. And that’s why alignment matters. Because true alignment expands your empathy.
✨ The Secret of Sacred Expansion
This verse waved at me while I was reading. And when a verse does that, I stop…sit with it…and let it talk.
This is what it whispered:
“Empathy is not an option. It’s the true riches of the human experience.”
The one who can’t feel for others — no matter their bank account —
is truly poor.
Imagine living a life so insulated, so walled off,that you can’t even sit with someone else’s pain. If you can’t feel someone else’s storm… you’re the poorest one in the room.
But here’s the good news: Empathy isn’t fixed — it can expand. We can close the empathy gap. We can step outside ourselves. We can widen the lens. And carry “such knowledge” into every room we walk into.
💥 So Here’s the Deal
“Empathy doesn’t shrink your world — it stretches your soul.
The only way to close the gap… is to grow bigger than it.”
Prayer
Lord, let such knowledge fill my heart till nothing’s missing.
Today’s Challenge
Before this day ends:
* Step into one story that isn’t yours.
* Don’t fix it. Don’t compare it. Just feel it.
* Let their pain shape your perspective.
About the Author
Fred Lynch is a creative communicator, author, and Christian Hip Hop pioneer. To learn more about Fred and what he’s up to now…click here or you can find him in all the socials by searching the handle: heyfredlynch
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Be Wise and Be Well...peace.
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