19 Better is a poor man who walks in his integrity
Than he who is perverse in [a]speech and is a fool.
2 Also it is not good for a person to be without knowledge,
And he who hurries [b]his footsteps [c]errs.
3 The foolishness of man ruins his way,
And his heart rages against the Lord.
4 Wealth adds many friends,
But a poor man is separated from his friend.
5 A false witness will not go unpunished,
And he who [d]tells lies will not escape.
6 Many will seek the favor of a [e]generous man,
And every man is a friend to him who gives gifts.
7 All the brothers of a poor man hate him;
How much more do his friends abandon him!
He pursues them with words, but they are [f]gone.
8 He who gets [g]wisdom loves his own soul;
He who keeps understanding will find good.
9 A false witness will not go unpunished,
And he who [h]tells lies will perish.
This passage divides neatly in two with verses 5 & 9, though they seem a little out of place. We’ll see if they tie in here before the end though. First, we have this theme running throughout the passage, if you have money, you’ll have lots of friends. Otherwise, if you’re poor, say goodbye to all of them.
In the first case, Solomon says “wealth adds many friends”, and “many will seek the favor of a generous man, and every man is a friend to him who gives gifts.” In the second, “a poor man is separated from his friend,” and “All the brothers of a poor man hate him; how much more do his friends abandon him!”
Surrounding these are warnings against rushing into things (much like the popular phrase “fools rush in”), and our two dividing verses that tell us the folly of falsehood, so what are we to make of this? Should we pursue wealth because of all the friends we will gain?
Rather, I think it is telling that Solomon reminds us to have patience, and to walk in integrity, and not to resort to foul language. If your “friends” are only there because of the money you have and the gifts you lavish on them, they aren’t real friends. People can be terribly fickle, and we shouldn’t take shortcuts to making friends.
Just in the last chapter (v. 24), Solomon admonished us that “A man of too many friends comes to ruin, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.” Rather than spending your money foolishly to please people, we ought to slow down. As verse 2 tells us, we need knowledge to make good decisions, and that can take time to get all the information you need to do something right.
Take a look at v. 8 and check your motivation. You won’t find joy and peace in pleasing people, much like the saying, “You can please some of the people all of the time, you can please all of the people some of the time, but you can’t please all of the people all of the time…” Are you doing something to make others happy, or are you doing it because you love your own soul–which means following the path God has put in front of you? Choose patience, and wisdom, and knowledge, and God’s way will shine through all the brighter.