Two things I asked of You, Do not refuse me before I die: Keep deception and lies far from me, Give me neither poverty nor riches; Feed me with the food that is my portion, That I not be full and deny You and say, “Who is the Lord?” Or that I not be in want and steal, And profane the name of my God. (Proverbs 30:7-9, NASB)
Proverbs 30 is attributed to “Agur the son of Jakeh, the oracle.” Agur is writing “to Ithiel and Ucal.” The prayer above strikes me as one of humility and restraint.
Agur’s two requests are, “Keep deception and lies far from me, Give me neither poverty nor riches.” My impression is he wants to live a simple life, free of scandal, and free from the entrapments that chasing after money sometimes create.
He expands further on the question of wealth: “Feed me with the food that is my portion, That I not be full and deny You and say, ‘Who is the Lord?'” Agur understands that in times of prosperity, we often forget from Whom our blessings come. We’re big on asking God for things, but small in giving thanks, especially when everything goes well. Agur asks for enough to sustain him, and nothing more.
In addition, “that I not be in want and steal, And profane the name of my God.” On the other hand, when it’s not going so well with us, we tend to curse God and wonder why He’s not taking care of us. Agur asks for just enough to provide for his needs, but for God to not put him in poverty.
The Bible warns us not to be overly concerned with chasing riches. There’s nothing wrong with having money, but “the LOVE of money is a root of all sorts of evil, and some by longing for it have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.” (1 Timothy 6:10, emphasis mine) The Bible also is consistent in saying that the reason we make money is so we can help those less fortunate. Jesus told us that God will take care of us if we have faith. He knows exactly what we need. The one Person we need in our lives is Jesus. He will sustain us with all of our needs while we’re still here on earth.
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