Proverbs 19:6-7

6Many entreat the favor of the nobility,
And every man is a friend to one who gives gifts.
7All the brothers of the poor hate him;
How much more do his friends go far from him!
He may pursue them with words, yet they abandon him.
-Proverbs 19:6-7

We once again come face to face with the reality that money and status makes friends, and the lack of it can lose them. The question that I would like to propose is this: should we, in an effort to gain favor with people, seek for money and status? Despite how tempting it might be, I would think the answer a resounding no. Neither the pursuit of wealth nor the pursuit of friends are among the greatest accolades of the believer. The highest priority for the believer is finding favor in the eyes of God. The only way in which we find such favor is through faith in Jesus. With that faith in Christ, we are even told that we must lay all the rest of that aside in the pursuit for him. That does not mean we cease having friends or we give away all of our money. But it does mean that the pursuit of Christ trumps the pursuit of anything else. Let the rich have their friends, and poor suffer the loss of them. The believer concerns with where they stand before the Lord.