Circumstances or Character
W. Arnot, D. D. Proverbs 19:22 The desire of a man is his kindness: and a poor man is better than a liar.… The imperial standard of weights and measures has been sent by the King into the market-place of human life, where men are busy cheating themselves and each other. Public opinion greatly needs to be elevated and rectified in its judgments of men and things. Society is like a house after an earthquake. Everything is squeezed out of its place. A standard has been set up in the market-place to measure the pretences of men withal, and those who will not employ it, must take the consequences. According to that standard "a poor man is better than a liar"; if, in the face of that sure index, you despise an honest man because he is poor, and give your confidence to the substance or semblance of wealth, without respect to righteousness, you deserve no pity when the inevitable retribution comes. Error in this matter is not confined to any rank. "Do not cheat" is a needful and useful injunction in our day; and "Do not be cheated" is another. The trade of the swindler would fail if the raw material were not plentiful, and easily wrought. If the community would cease to value a man by the appearance of his wealth, and judge him according to the standard of the Scriptures, there would be fewer prodigies of dishonesty among us. In the Scriptures a dishonest man is called a liar, however high his position may be in the city. And the honest poor gets his patent of nobility from the Sovereign's hand. (W. Arnot, D. D.) Parallel Verses KJV: The desire of a man is his kindness: and a poor man is better than a liar. WEB: That which makes a man to be desired is his kindness. A poor man is better than a liar.