“Wealth makes many “friends”; poverty drives them all away.” Proverbs 19:4 NLT
 
I enjoy watching those shows where they are searching for lost or sunken treasures. There are many movies and reality programs with the theme of finding something rare or valuable. They go through enormous expense and effort to find some valuable treasures. 
 
Occasionally, especially on sitcom shows, the “treasure” turns out to look nice, but is worthless. It may even turn out to be an imitation of the original and still of little value. Perhaps there has been no better imitation in the modern era than cubic zirconium, imitation diamonds. They may look nice to show, but if you wanted to purchase something that has lasting value you would not invest in an imitation. 
 
Appropriate for this Thanksgiving week is this week’s Proverb. “Genuine friendships and relationships have great value, but those obtained through wealth are cheap imitations and disappear when the wealth is gone. “
 
I doubt that anyone who reads this devotion regularly is in the habit of trying to secure relationships through wealth, but there may be a few that are allowing wealth to interfere with their relationships. Material wealth is fleeting, relationships are enduring and are truly genuine treasures. Spend your efforts on those things that will last and don’t let “things” interfere .
 
This week be thankful for the genuine relationships in your life. 
 
In His Hands, 
 
John