March 19

Mar 19 - Today we look at Proverbs 19 verse 6
"Many curry favor with a ruler, and everyone is the friend of a man who gives gifts."

One cannot escape the fact that in the economy of this world system, money is power. One of the aspects of that power is the power to influence. One can make friends with money. A somewhat corrupted example of this is our political lobbying system. Politicians are not necessarily 'bought', but they certainly are influenced in their decision-making processes by the huge sums of money controlled by the various lobbies.
But how can we make this proverb practical in our own lives? For starters, we can learn to be wise givers of gifts. Jesus had the very most critical message mankind could ever hear, and He needed to 'make friends' with the multitudes in order to get their attention and trust. He gave gifts. Gifts of the Holy Spirit (1 Cor. 12). The gift of healing. The gift of discerning of spirits and casting them out. The gift of faith. The gift of miraculous powers such as the ability to feed thousands with a few loaves and fishes. Jesus had lots of friends, thousands of them, and they listened to His message. They didn't get His message at first, until He gave them the gift of the Holy Spirit Himself. On the day of Pentecost, when the Holy Spirit came to quicken the teachings of Jesus to the hearts of the people, thousands came to salvation at the preaching of the first sermon. They then discovered that Jesus was a true Friend, one who does not leave or forsake His own. Of course Jesus' motivation to heal, to cast out demons, to feed, and even to raise the dead was not just to make friends with the people. Paul writes in 1 Cor. 13 that the manifestation of the gifts of the Spirit means nothing unless they come through the pure motivation of love. That was Jesus' motivation for everything He did.
Jesus tells one of the most perplexing parables in Luke 16 about a devious steward (someone who handles the financial affairs of another). The steward stole from his master, and then when caught he used his limited remaining time to gain favor (make friends) with his masters debtors by greatly reducing their debts. Not a good role model at all. Yet the master commended the steward for his shrewdness (not his integrity of character). Jesus concluded that the people of this world system were more clever in using the system to further their own purposes than were the people of the light in using it for furthering God's kingdom. Jesus then says, "I tell you, use worldly wealth to gain friends for yourselves, so that when it is gone, you will be welcomed into eternal dwellings."
Everyone is the friend of a man who gives gifts. I remember when serving with our Christian relief and development organization that we were visiting a Moslem refugee camp in Zagreb, Croatia. Our sponsor distributor of relief goods in that area was a small Pentecostal Church. We would send them food, clothing and other goods and they would distribute it to the refugees. The Pastor's wife came with us to the camp. When we entered the grounds, dozens ran out to throw their arms around this woman of God and greet her. It was an amazing visit. As we were preparing to leave, a group of children were standing near the exit, pointing to the ground and jabbering in their native tongue. I stopped and asked our hostess to interpret. She listened to them and then turned to us with tears in her eyes. They are saying, "Thank you. We came with bare feet. Now we are wearing Christian shoes." They had gotten their shoes through the relief program and they knew we were the supplier. Some second-hand tennis shoes made friends and opened a door for these Moslem children to listen to our message.
The people of this world use the power of money for personal gain and influence. Jesus tells His church that we can learn a lesson from them.