"He who shuts his ear to the cry of the poor will also cry himself and not be answered"
The wise person, the righteous person, the person of faith is a person of love and caring. They cannot shut out the needs of those who have nothing. If you become callous enough that you cannot be touched by those who are truly in need, then the hole in your soul will leave you in despair with no way to fill it.
It does not matter how successful or wealthy or powerful you become in life; you cannot close your heart. You must be able to be touched by the tragedy of another person or you lose so much. Be careful that your scam detector does not eliminate the possibility of really caring. At times it is better to be a little gullible than to have no ability to feel for those for whom life has dealt a hard blow.
poor
This is the Hebrew word dal which means one who is low or in some state of deprivation. This kind of person really doesn't have basic needs. They lack food, clothing, shelter. If you see a person like this or hear of a person in this condition and you shut your heart, then Solomon promises that you will cry yourself and have no one to comfort you.
This is the story of the Good Samaritan but following the people who crossed over to the other side and refused to help the man who had been beaten up and left for dead by the robbers. Solomon follows them and notes how they have desperate needs in their life, and God never sends anyone to help them. He follows them to Judgment Day and finds their closed hearts mean that they have never let Him do any type of work in them, and they cannot enjoy an eternal relationship with the one who is love.
Sure there are scam artists and thieves and cheats and people who won't take personal responsibility but don't allow your heart to closed to those who really do need a little help. If you have the ability to help, keep your heart open and help. It will be well worth it. If you become a closed-loop system of selfishness, there will be no answers from some of your deepest questions and needs because they must come from outside of yourself.
Until tomorrow,
Gil Stieglitz