Classic KJV - Proverbs 14:20

This proverb is descriptive, rather than prescriptive. It describes the prevailing social instincts of humans, without offering direct advice about wealth. It merely states one of the common results of being rich. It exposes our natural tendency to greed and selfishness, loving to acquire things and hating to lose them. So we’re attracted to companions who have more, in the hope of getting more. On the other hand, if we’re the ones who have more, our wealth will make us popular.

Translation: Neighbour

The Hebrew word for neighbour, רֵעַ (rēaʻ, pronounced “rey-a”), may also be translated as companion or associate. So the truth of this text applies to just about anyone. We might hope that a close associate or long-time neighbour or friend would overlook the ups and downs in our financial status and still be friendly. Possibly not. A loss of wealth can mean the loss of friends. Loyalty often lasts only as long as the cash flows.

Loving People or Loving Their Wealth

We’re drawn to the rich plainly in the hope of getting something from them. On the other hand, the poor not only have nothing to give us, but may even want something from us. If we’re surrounded by the poor, we may find ourselves losing a little here, a little there, and all that adding up to a lot. We tend to shun the poor because they seem an inevitable drain on our resources. As we grow wealthy, we may increasingly see the poor as a nuisance, rather than an opportunity to learn to be generous.

Not all of the wealthy attract many friends. Some are cold and tight with their assets, but they like to be surrounded by hangers-on, keeping them on the hook with vague promises of future luxuries. But most of their underlings drift away frustrated, leaving just a few minions, hoping for a generosity that never comes. On the other hand, some of the wealthy deliberately hide or obscure their wealth, because they don’t want such so-called “friends.” Sometimes a lottery winner remains anonymous, to avoid attracting undesirable companions. A prosperous person who loses all his money soon discovers his true friends. How many friends would you lose, if all your assets suddenly vanished?

It's Hard to be Poor

Poverty often contributes to social isolation. Sometimes people avoid the poor fearing the poor will ask for money or make them feel guilty just for being rich. Sadly sometimes the poor feel unloved even by God, because of bad theology which asserts that God always blesses the faithful with plenty, and thus the poor must be out of favor with God. I remember being at a MacDonald's restaurant in California and practicing my broken Spanish with a young man. He confided in me that God did not love him because he was poor and Mexican. False!  God has particular compassion and concern for the poor. (Psalm 69:33, Psalm 140:12) ¹ .  We must understand that riches can be contaminated (Proverbs 10:22)  and also that sometimes poverty is preferred to wealth. (Proverbs 28:6) .

Our Maker, Saviour, and Friend

Jesus was an advocate for the poor. God’s love for each of us is not affected by our net-worth. Yet God told the wealthy to be generous with the poor, for their friendship:

When you give a luncheon or a dinner, do not invite your friends or your brothers or your relatives or rich neighbors, otherwise they may also invite you in return and that will be your repayment. But when you give a reception, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, and you will be blessed, since they do not have the means to repay you; for you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.

Luke 14:12-14

How’s that for personal financial planning? Wealthy kings of the past, like the Egyptian pharaohs, were buried encased in abundant gold, in the hope that they could use it in the after-life. Jesus had a different strategy.

He said that our reward in the next life is determined by our treatment of the poor in this life.

1. Money Seeking God's Wisdom, Jim Newheiser, P&R Publishing, 2019, Page 34