The person we desire
[Proverbs 19:6, 22]
Who do you like? Who do you want to be friends with? When I look at an internet website, there is an article titled ‘What is a Real Friend’. I was reading it, there is a part of the article that comes to my mind that I want to share with you: ‘A friend is a face you miss when you wander in longing, and a person who just wants to be there while you are alive. The one who can wipe those tears away when you're crying and the one who will respond to your bright smile, the one who things of you wherever you are. The friend is the beings of love who doesn’t expect to receive and who is willing to give all of his. That is why he is a person who prays to share your pain and sorrow. He is the person who can only give you warm feeling when you are frustrated, someone who cares your heart when you want to walk alone. The friend is someone who wants to call you when you're lonely and someone who wants to tell you a short story. The friend is a person who can love all of you, and who will only wish you happiness even in the event of an unexpected breakup’ (Internet). Do you have a friend like this? Don't you think it would be nice to have such a friend if you don't have one? What does the Bible says about whom we should desire?
In Proverbs 19:22, King Solomon says: “What a man desires is unfailing love ; better to be poor than a liar.” I would like to receive the lessons God gives us by thinking about two things under the heading “The person we desire” based on Proverbs 19:6, 22.
First, the person we desire is a generous man.
Look at Proverbs 19:6 – “Many will seek the favor of a generous man, And every man is a friend to him who gives gifts.” It may not be easy to find someone who treats you generously when everyone is struggling because the economy is not so good these days. It can be difficult to find someone who treats you more generously, especially because many people are so absorbed in materialism that they don’t want to do anything that hurts their financial situation in any way. However, in the midst of such situation, how would you feel when you meet someone who treats you generously even though he suffers a little loss? One of my personal restaurants is El Pollo Loco. There is one near our church, and another one near my house. So I usually go to these two places to order and eat my favorite Tostada salad. Once I went to the El Pollo Loco restaurant near my neighborhood and ordered a Tostada salad. And when I opened the lid, there was too little lettuce. So I asked someone who works there to give me more lettuce. Then one more time, I went to the same restaurant near our church and ordered the same food. And the worker looked at my face and checked my name. And she made the food and gave it to me and I was grateful for how much she gave me the food. I am sure you like a generous person too.
In Proverbs 19:6, the generous man that King Solomon is talking about is a person who is generous and likes to give to others. In particular, he knows the plight of others and wants to help. So he helps those living in difficult lives and serves them with his loving hand. The generous man is the one who gives gifts (v. 6). Therefore, the generous man not only gives food to the poor (22:9), but also shows grace all day long (Ps. 37:26). Such generous man who likes relief enriches others (Prov. 11:25). What would you do with such generous man who gives you relief, gives you gifts, and shows you grace all day long? According to Proverbs 19:6, the Bible says that many people seek the favor of the generous man. And the Bible says that many people want to be friends with that generous man (v. 6). Do you have such a generous friend?
I remember the word of Proverbs 18:16 – “A man's gift makes room for him And brings him before great men.” As I meditated again on this word that the man’s gift brings us before great men, I thought again of Jesus, who is the God's gift to us. As a result of this fact that God has given the best gift of Jesus to sinners like us and to those who have been enemies with God, are we not being led before the graceful throne of God? Therefore, we must approach before the throne of grace boldly in order to receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need (Heb. 4:16). And we must live a life of showing grace to others through the grace of God. And we should be generous to them. Then we will be blessed (Prov. 22:9), and not only us, but also our descendants as well (Ps. 37:26). And God will enrich and enrich us (Prov. 11:25).
Second and last, the person we desire is a kind man.
Look at Proverbs 19:22 – “What is desirable in a man is his kindness, And it is better to be a poor man than a liar.” What do you desire from people? Isn't it “kindness” (v. 22)? This verse is translated into original Hebrew as follows: ‘A man's desire is his kindness, and the poor man is better than a liar’ (Park). The meaning of this word is that ‘If a man has a desire in his heart to do good (kindness), then the poor who has such a desire are better than the rich who do good without that desire in his heart (Park). Here, King Solomon says that rather than being poor and rich, it is more important whether or not we have desire to do kindness in our hearts. What is the reason? The reason is because God is looking at our hearts (1 Sam. 16:7). And since God who sees our hearts wants us to be truthful (Ps. 51:6), it is very important whether we have desire to exercise kindness in our hearts or not.
In fact, do you think the rich man who lied is better, or the truthful poor man better? In particular, if the rich man outwardly relieves many people, but he has no kindness in his heart, but if the poor man relieves few neighbors with kindness, who do you think is better in your eyes? One of the things I am grateful to God is that the members of the Mexican Church that the Lord has established, the members of our church mission team who serve that church are serving the Mexican people with pure hearts. According to Pastor Gomez, who serves our Hispanic Ministry, many churches in Mexico are not serving people with a pure heart. For example, the most churches are asking for money or materials from people who come to church. However, our Mexican church provides free meals and offers to people who come to the church, so people are keep on coming. I believe that this is a very precious ministry that a member of our church and his wife collect and bring can foods to the church every day so that our Mexico mission team can take them to Mexico church and give to people who come to the church. One of our Mexican church sisters in Christ is sharing the can foods with her neighbors and evangelizing. How precious is this ministry? We must do good to our neighbors. Our hearts must have a heart (desire) to do mercy on them. With this heart, we must spread the gospel of Jesus Christ while showing love to our neighbors. What is the reason? The reason for this is because first of all, God gave us grace and is still giving us His grace. King Solomon knew of this grace. So he said in 1 Kings 3:6 – “Then Solomon said, ‘You have shown great lovingkindness to Your servant David my father, according as he walked before You in truth and righteousness and uprightness of heart toward You; and You have reserved for him this great lovingkindness, that You have given him a son to sit on his throne, as it is this day.’” Therefore, King Solomon offered a thousand burnt offerings to God on the altar of Gibeon (v. 4), and God appeared in a Solomon's dream and said, “Ask what you wish me to give you” (v. 5).
Those who know God's great grace in this way cannot but show grace to their neighbors. Those who experience the great kindness of God cannot but show the kindness of God to them. A man of God who knows that the Lord's lovingkindness is better than his life (Ps. 63:3) cannot but shows that kindness to his neighbors. It is this kindness of God that we must desire now. We must desire for God's kindness more and more. Therefore, we must be loving and kind Christians.
The real friend we should desire is Jesus. What is the reason? The reason is because Jesus desires us (Song of Sol. 7:10). To what extent does Jesus desire us is that He loves and desires us until He dies on the cross in bearing all our sins on our behalf. Jesus is pleased to show us kindness and is the Lord who treats us generously. Like the psalmist, we must be able to confess, “Whom have I in heaven but You? And besides You, I desire nothing on earth” (Ps. 73:25). And I hope we can sincerely praise God “I Have Found a Friend in Jesus”: “I have found a friend in Jesus, He's everything to me, He's the fairest of ten thousand to my soul; The Lily of the Valley, in Him alone I see All I need to cleanse and make me fully whole. In sorrow He's my comfort in trouble He's my stay, He tells me ev'ry care on Him to roll. He's the Lily of the Valley, the bright and Morning Star, He's the fairest of ten thousand to my soul.”