Brother, Can You Lend Me a Dime?

(Pro 19:19 KJV)  A man of great wrath shall suffer punishment: for if thou deliver him, yet thou must do it again.

I tend to think that you go the extra mile for people you know well rather than those you just met.  I still think that is true but this verse makes me stop and think twice about that.  Knowing people for a long time can prepare you to help them better than if you know little about them.  It helps us give advice and makes us sensitive to the times they want help as opposed to the times they would rather do it themselves.  So that is good.

What is harder is the thought that knowing someone well might also make us less likely to help.  In this verse the focus is on people with a quick temper.  We all know them.  What we don’t know when we first meet them is whether the anger is a personality trait or whether someone managed to push that one button they struggle with.  

So?  Familiarity may cause us to withhold support and encouragement.  Remember Tigger.  Anything that came up was what Tiggers do best.  He needed restraint, not encouragement.  Alcoholics don’t need people to clean up for them and shelter them from reality.  Our faith requires our active minds.