”Many will intreat the favour of the prince: And every man is a friend to him that giveth gifts.“
Proverbs 19:6
Verse 6 and verse 7 seem to be written as stand alone passages but are co-joined in a contrasting of ideas. Let’s begin with verse 6 and in the discussion on verse 7 we will explore the contrast.
Verse 6:
We might be able to re-state the idea presented this way:
Many people will grovel to get into a position of being noticed by those with power or resources. And every one can be friends with a person that gives valuables (money, things, position, fame, recognition…) to those around them.
It is important to note, this, as with most of the proverbs in the scripture, is a maxim, not an absolute. In other words, not everyone that gives valuables away would you want to be around. Oftentimes this tactic is employed specifically to gain a crowd for evil purposes. Take note, and watch the world around you. When you see a Politician promising to give valuables to their Constituents, you are most likely witnessing a bribe. Usually this bribe falls short of the promise and ends up devouring those it promised to benefit.
On the other hand we see this maxim as a pointer to how we should aspire to be. Adding value to those around us and thereby we increase our crowd. Think of an Author or Musician which has spent years perfecting their craft. Their work touches the heart and shakes the soul. They will not have to beg for people to read or listen to them, the crowd will generate more interest and the audience will grow.
”All the brethren of the poor do hate him: How much more do his friends go far from him? He pursueth them with words, yet they are wanting to him.“
Proverbs 19:7
Verse 6 and verse 7 seem to be written as stand alone passages but are co-joined in a contrasting of ideas.
In verse 6 we saw how to draw a crowd, in verse 7 we see how to lose the crowd, and even deeper, we see how to lose those which have an allegiance to us.
Being needy is being poor. Truthfully, there are several types of poor. Poor means, “not enough.”
For instance, I have seen numerous Parents become poor (not have enough) when their Children leave home. Their entire world was wrapped up in someone else’s life and when that person sets out to begin their life journey the Parent loses their life purpose and claws to get it back; they are needy, clinging to the hope they can be valuable again, perhaps even manipulating circumstances to de-rail the adult Child’s journey so the Parent can swoop in and save the day, thereby becoming relevant again. The idea presented here encompasses all close relationships, Siblings, Cousins, Aunts, Uncles, Parents, Grandparents, Spouses and Children.
This is a recipe for disaster. It will tailspin one or both of the lives (or more) down into destruction.
The second portion of the proverb adds to the first, suggesting the friends will run farther away and more swiftly than the family members did.
The contrast between the ideas presented in verse 6 and verse 7 look something like this:
Add value and give people reasons to feel they are enriching themself by being around you and your influence will grow.
Be needy and drag those around you down by taking their value and you will lose influence to the point those that have to be tied to you will find ways to avoid you