Life has become a transactional thing. People marry for what they stand to gain, people enter into business with corporations and family that are promising, people make friends with those from whom they have something to benefit. Every piece of advice about friendship always falls back to keeping company with people who benefit you one way or another. A lot of people do not love genuinely; they weigh what they stand to gain and lose as they make acquaintances. Sometimes it's not because love no longer exists, but because society measures everything by profit. That's why poor people have few friends and the rich have an influx of people around them, many of whom love them because of what they stand to gain.
When money wasn't a thing, people loved genuinely, until money became the answer to feasting and a good life. One cannot know who truly are his true friends when they're rich, because everyone is there for the gold. They act loyal, patient, faithful, and truthful until money is out of the equation. That's why the proverb "a friend in need is a friend indeed" speaks volumes in today's society, because only in times of need do we truly know who's there because they genuinely love us and not for what they stand to gain.
Image generated using Gemini AI
I have a few friends, and financially I cannot boast that I'm doing well, yet they stick around. In my life, I'm in a period where I can genuinely handpick friends that truly love me because I'm not wealthy or influential in any way yet. We've been through thin and thick together, we've spoken about the cruelty of life and motivated each other to keep pushing together. We have seen each other's worst state and yet chose to stay. These habits have shown that they genuinely love me and not after what I have to offer—because in reality, I have nothing to offer that would be enough to make them stay in pretense.
So if I'm asked whether the circle of friends I have genuinely love me or love me because of what I have to offer, I'll say they love me for who I am, not for what I have, because I don't have something significant enough that they rely on. While society may spread profit over genuine love, there are still friends who are friends indeed. People who are not after instant gratification, but stick around in good and bad times.
Posted Using INLEO
