God intends for us to act civilly to all that we come into contact with. Paul expressed this principle in 1 Corinthians 12:23-26, "And those members of the body, which we think to be less honourable, upon these we bestow more abundant honour; and our uncomely parts have more abundant comeliness. 24For our comely parts have no need: but God hath tempered the body together, having given more abundant honour to that part which lacked: 25That there should be no schism in the body; but that the members should have the same care one for another. 26And whether one member suffer, all the members suffer with it; or one member be honoured, all the members rejoice with it." Here there is given special attention to that which is lacking. God wants us to look out for those do not have the same advantage as we do. The Lord Jesus represented as such in Luke 12:48 which reads in part, "...For unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall be much required: and to whom men have committed much, of him they will ask the more." Those who have been given much by the Master will have greater accounting on the day of judgment. We need to realize the solemness of this fact.
Application
To properly understand the Bible, we need to use what is known as applied theology.
Leviticus 19:14 describes some that are less fortunate than we and how we are not to take advantage of them, "Thou shalt not curse the deaf, nor put a stumblingblock before the blind, but shalt fear thy God: I am the LORD." This law is not enforceable by the civil government. It can only be administered by God Himself. This limits the size of the civil government. This is an issue of self-government. Each Christian is to make sure that he does not behave with cruelty toward the deaf and the blind. Cursing the deaf and causing a blind person to fall are the height of cruelty.
Noah Webster’s 1828 Dictionary defines "cruel" as, "Disposed to give pain to others, in body or mind; willing or pleased to torment, vex or afflict; inhuman; destitute of pity, compassion or kindness; fierce; ferocious; savage; barbarous; hardhearted..." It certainly sounds like anyone associated with abortion. Proverbs 12:10 depicts the attitude of the cruel, "A righteous man regardeth the life of his beast: but the tender mercies of the wicked are cruel." In other words, the heartless have no regard for anyone or anything but themselves. They take pleasure in tormenting animals. They love to torment. If these individuals will curse the deaf and cause the blind to stumble, there is nothing that they would not do to demonstrate their fierceness.
The children of Israel pronounced blessing and cursing in Deuteronomy 27 with one of the cursing being found in Deuteronomy 27:18, "Cursed be he that maketh the blind to wander out of the way. And all the people shall say, Amen." This is the height of cruelty to purposely cause a blind person to wander not knowing where they are going. It shows a definite lack of compassion for a condition in which the person themselves cannot help. A godly society will pray and seek the cursing of God on such individuals. Children can be among the cruelest people especially those in the government schools to those who have physical deformities.
Deuteronomy 32:32-33 speaks symbolically regarding these individuals, "For their vine is of the vine of Sodom, and of the fields of Gomorrah: their grapes are grapes of gall, their clusters are bitter: 33Their wine is the poison of dragons, and the cruel venom of asps." The symbolism here is that the poisonous bite of the asp is cruel. The venom must torment its victim and the bite must be extremely painful. Poisonous snakes here are implied to take pleasure in causing harm to their victims.
The cruel are representative of their father the devil. Lamentations 4:3-4 gives us an example how just cruel can become, "Even the sea monsters draw out the breast, they give suck to their young ones: the daughter of my people is become cruel, like the ostriches in the wilderness. 4The tongue of the sucking child cleaveth to the roof of his mouth for thirst: the young children ask bread, and no man breaketh it unto them." They do not look out for the less fortunate, but rather delight in causing pain to the weak. Rather than die from starvation in God’s judgment, these individuals will become cannibals, as Deuteronomy 28:53 says, "And thou shalt eat the fruit of thine own body, the flesh of thy sons and of thy daughters, which the LORD thy God hath given thee, in the siege, and in the straitness, wherewith thine enemies shall distress thee." This is the ultimate in taking advantage of the weak. This is clear violation of God’s law.
Conclusion
The remedy is found in Philippians 2:1-5, "If there be therefore any consolation in Christ, if any comfort of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any bowels and mercies, 2Fulfil ye my joy, that ye be likeminded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind. 3Let nothing be done through strife or vainglory; but in lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than themselves. 4Look not every man on his own things, but every man also on the things of others." The Christian is considerate of others, especially those who are less fortunate than themselves. They realize that they have what they do only by the grace of God.
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