A rich man may be wise in his own eyes, but a poor man who has discernment sees through him (Proverbs 28:11).

Rich people really do think they're better than everyone else.  They size others up based on the clothes they're wearing, the accent with which they speak, the neighborhoods and homes in which they live -- and if they perceive that others have less money than they do, then they automatically assume that they have poorer hygiene, lower levels of intelligence, and fewer prospects in life.  It's a fact.

I know that it's a fact because I regularly catch myself thinking that I am a better person than someone who is less fortunate than me.  We all seem to have some sort of subconscious compulsion to compare ourselves to others; and as much as I hate to admit it, I do almost automatically look down on Americans who live in trailer homes, or Amsterdammers who speak with Eastern European accents, or Americans who wear cowboy boots, or Amsterdammers who like to listen to Andre Hazes.  I'm absolutely horrible when it comes to stereotyping and looking down my nose at the people "below me."  I'm ashamed to realize how much I've become wise in my own eyes.  Of course I'm bothered by people who do this to me -- people with higher levels of education from more prestigious schools, people who drive cars made by Mercedes or BMW, people who speak with Dutch with a Dutch accent -- but how can I resent them when I'm guilty of the same sins?!?  It's absurd to criticize others who are "higher up" the socio-economic pecking order because I deserve plenty of criticism myself!

I think we all like to read Proverbs 28:11 and think of ourselves as the "poor man" who has the discernment to see right through all those rich snobs who make more money than we do.  I think we derive some satisfaction from the idea of telling off some jerk who might try to rub our noses in our insufficiencies -- kind of like the poor-but-brilliant character from "Good Will Hunting" who wins the favor of a beautiful Harvard undergraduate student by publicly shaming the arrogant trust-funded Harvard graduate student in intellectual combat and comes back to him asking, "Do you like apples?  Do you like apples?  Well, I got her number:  How do you like them apples?!?"  We all like that idea of retribution and vindication -- convincing ourselves that we really are every bit as good as "those people" who bandy their wealth about like some sort of  badge of honor.  But how often do we look at ourselves with that critical eye towards our own hypocrisy?  How much do we let this "wisdom in our own eyes" build up like a nasty layer of plaque in our mouths?  How much could someone poorer than me look right through me, with just a little bit of discernment?  When I think about it in this way, I realize that I'm busted.  I've been seen right through, like a pane of glass.

In truth, all human beings (both "rich" and "poor") are made in the image of the Creator God.  We're all foolish until we find Wisdom and Redemption in Jesus (which is, ironically, often considered to be "foolishness" in the eyes of the world).  And if you think anything otherwise, you'd better check to make sure that others aren't looking right through you.