Proverbs 19
1It is better to be poor and honest than to be a fool and dishonest.
2Zeal without knowledge is not good; a person who moves too quickly may go the wrong way.
3People ruin their lives by their own foolishness and then are angry at the LORD.
4Wealth makes many “friends”; poverty drives them away.
5A false witness will not go unpunished, nor will a liar escape.
6Many beg favors from a prince; everyone is the friend of a person who gives gifts! (Proverbs 19:1-6, NLT)
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Some time ago, I heard a person call into the Dave Ramsey show asking for advice on when and how to tell their kids that they were rich.
Apparently, the caller had pooled some money with some co-workers for their states’ PowerBall lottery and, as luck would have it, they won. BIG. His share of the winnings was significant and made his family extremely wealthy. Yet, even though they now had a windfall of money, they hadn’t told anyone. Not their kids. Not their friends. And not their parents or other relatives.
The caller was asking for advice on when and how to tell their kids who were now getting older and moving into adulthood. He wondered when his kids might be mature enough to hear this information without blabbing it to the world.
One might ask why someone who is wealthy would not want others to know about it. Why not advertise it to the world? After all, isn’t it a sign of success and achievement? Wouldn’t it garner the respect and admiration of others? Isn’t half the fun of winning the lottery letting people know that you “beat” the system?
The reality is that extreme wealth has a parasitic effect, and Solomon, who, according to the Scriptures, was the wisest man to ever live, speaks about that in this section of his Proverbs.
Verse four, in particular, says that:
wealth makes many “friends”; poverty drives them away.
You’ll notice that in the NLT, the word “friends” is in quotes. It’s not in quotes in the original language or in most other translations. The quotes have been placed there by the translator to convey the meaning of the verse, which is that wealth brings many so-called “friends” but they’re not really your friends. They’re only your friends because you have money. If, and when the money disappears (poverty) so does their friendship. Obviously, that’s not REAL friendship.
Verse 6 expounds on this idea. It’s amazing how many friends and distant relatives you’ll learn you have as soon as the word gets around that you now have money. People you haven’t seen in years, and even people you’ve never met will suddenly show up on your doorstep, acting friendly toward you and pretending to care about you, while in reality they just want to help you spend your money.
The Bible is clear that wealth is not evil (though greed is) and it’s not sinful or immoral to be wealthy.
At the same time, the Bible warns about the dangers of extreme wealth. Besides the fact that wealth can, and often does turn into greed, wealth can also bring unwanted people into your life. People who are not particularly interested in you as a person will seek to wriggle their way into your life in order to ingratiate themselves to your good nature, hoping that you will reward them with a handout.
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Reflection
When have you experienced so-called “friends” only being nice to you because they wanted something from you?
Have you ever had a rich relative or friend? What was your attitude toward them? Did you find yourself acting differently in hopes of being “taken care of”?
What do you think are some ways you can safeguard yourself from falling into the trap of greed and wanting money? How can you avoid treating others differently because of their money or lack of money?
How can you cultivate contentment in your life?
Photo by dylan nolte on Unsplash
The Lowedown 