Being Genuine

(Prov 19:4 MSG) Wealth attracts friends as honey draws flies, but poor people are avoided like a plague.


Here Solomon reminds us how fickle, fake and phony people can be. Solomon was extremely wealthy so he had no shortage of people wanting to be his friend. But were these people genuine? Did they really want to connect with Solomon or did they simply want to enjoy his money, position and fame?

In one sense the rich man has many friends, because his wealth does attract people like honey, but in another sense he never knows how many true friends he has; friends who love him for who he is rather than for what he possesses.

Furthermore, many of the people that are in his face while he has the money will drop him in a minute if he ever loses it. Solomon tells us that the poor are often avoided like the plague. I am sure Prodigal Son had lots of "friends" while he was living it up and spending all his inheritance, but when his money ran out and he found himself in a hog's pen, all those 'so-called' friends were long gone.

As I thought about this lesson I remembered the lyrics of a song from a group called "Leaders of the New School" (from which Busta Rythmes came out of) that pertain to this message. The lyrics are: "I remember Rob when he first got his Saab, his face was a mob, with people he didn't know from JACK, but when his car went FLAT, they wouldn't stop BY, to even say HI or give a REPLY." Unfortunately, that's how it often is. When you have money and 'stuff' people are drawn to you, but when you fall on hard times they forget all about you.

So what does this mean to you ? Let's take a look at a few things:

1. The negative aspect: I think I have already harped on this enough. The sad reality is that many people are selfish and disingenuous when it comes to relationships.

2. The Positive aspect: I always try to find something positive in everything and a positive 'slant' on this message would be: people are looking for relationships that are mutually beneficial. What I mean by this is that relationships are best when both parties benefit from the association. Most poor people are avoided because the 'perception' is that they don't have much to offer. Conversely, the wealthy are attractive because of the opposite 'perception.'

3. God's expectation of us: The Father wants us to connect with people because of who they are, not what they have or what they can do for us. You are Blessed TO BE a Blessing to others. While some relationships will be mutually beneficial, others will not. There are some people that the Father will send you to so He can minister TO them THROUGH you. Guess what? You may not get anything from them per se, but you will have the satisfaction of knowing that you are doing God's work. So keep your focus on God, connect with all those He leads you to connect with, receive all You can from those He sends to pour into your life, and also be thankful for those He allows you to pour into. Keeping your focus on God will keep you from being overly disappointed with phony people.

Father, thank You for Your Word! Your Word keeps me fixed and focused. I will connect with all those You lead me to connect with. I have relationships where the other person pours into me, I have relationships where I pour into the other person, and I have relationships where we pour into each other. No matter the nature of the relationship, I will seek to connect with people because of who they are, not what they have or what they can do for me. I will be genuine and sincere in all I do. Thank You Father for blessing me to connect with the right people! In Jesus' name. Amen!