How can Proverbs 19:4 guide us in choosing friends wisely? Foundational Verse “Wealth attracts many friends, but a poor man is deserted by his friend.” (Proverbs 19:4) Observations from the Verse • Riches draw crowds; neediness often scatters them. • The verse does not praise this reality—it simply states it. • Scripture’s candor opens our eyes to motives that can hide beneath “friendliness.” What the Verse Is and Isn’t Saying • IS saying: people can befriend us for what we have, not who we are. • IS saying: circumstances test loyalty; prosperity invites convenience, poverty exposes commitment. • IS NOT commending favoritism (see James 2:1–4). • IS NOT condemning wealth itself; it exposes superficial bonds tied to it. Timeless Principles for Friendship 1. Motive matters – True friends stay when benefits dry up (Proverbs 17:17). 2. Character over convenience – Better “a neighbor nearby than a brother far away” (Proverbs 27:10). 3. Integrity attracts the right company – “The righteous choose their friends carefully” (Proverbs 12:26). 4. Trials reveal truth – Adversity is God’s sieve separating genuine loyalty from self-interest. New Testament Echoes • Jesus—“You are My friends if you do what I command” (John 15:14). Friendship with Christ is covenantal, not transactional. • Paul—Demas “loved this present world” and deserted him (2 Timothy 4:10). World-tied loyalties prove fragile. • Early church—believers shared willingly so “there was no needy person among them” (Acts 4:34). Love, not leverage, bound them together. Practical Checkpoints for Choosing Friends • Do they draw nearer when life gets harder? • Are they drawn more to my heart or my belongings, status, network? • Do our interactions encourage holiness (1 Corinthians 15:33)? • Can I trust them with weakness without fear of abandonment? • Do they celebrate my victories without envy and endure my losses without retreat? Encouragement to Walk Wisely God graciously warns that popularity can be shallow. Invite Him to cultivate friendships rooted in covenant love, mirroring His faithfulness—the Friend who “will never leave you nor forsake you” (Hebrews 13:5). Choose, invest in, and become the kind of friend who stays when the wallets close and the storms open. |
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