Rich and Poor
23
The poor plead for mercy;
the rich answer with insults.
24
There are “friends” who destroy each other,
but a real friend sticks closer than a brother.
Verse 23
This is terrible. The rich man is greedy. He does not think that God cares about the poor man. The rich man does not use his wealth to help the poor man. Instead, the rich man wastes his money on luxury. God will punish him.
This first proverb describes not how God wants the world to work, but how it often does. The rich have power, and the poor can only plead for mercy. Throughout Scripture, we are encouraged to show mercy to the poor, widows, and orphans. If you think you're too poor to help others, remember there are many people who are in worse situations than you.
Verse 24
The friends ought to help the first man. But when he needs help, they all avoid him. This often happens. Many friends are not loyal. When troubles come, such friends leave.
The second man has only one friend. But this friend is a different type of friend. There is real love in this friendship. When troubles come, this friend is like a brother. This friend really cares. Jesus is like this friend. He cares for us, even if nobody else cares. He even died for us, so that God would forgive us. Jesus said, ‘Nobody loves more than the man who dies for his friends. You are my friends, if you obey me.’ (John 15:13-14)
This proverb tells us that while you might have many casual friends, having even one true friend is rare and valuable. The number of Facebook friends you have doesn't reflect the number of real, genuine friends you have.
Let me ask you: Don’t get discouraged if you have only a few true friends. Jesus, who died and rose again over two thousand years ago, wants to be your true friend. Check out Chapter 3 of the book of John.
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