Proverbs 30:7–9 (NLT)
O God, I beg two favors from you;
let me have them before I die.
First, help me never to tell a lie.
Second, give me neither poverty nor riches!
Give me just enough to satisfy my needs.
For if I grow rich, I may deny you and say, “Who is the LORD?”And if I am too poor, I may steal and thus insult God’s holy name.
In Scripture, if people are going to go around asking God for something big, they usually bring it down to one thing. Rarely does anyone say, "I need two favours." But that's what we get here in Proverbs 30.
Imagine saying to God,
Okay, Jesus, I need to ask you for two favours.
What would they be? If you told me I could ask the Lord for two favours, my first impulse would likely be to ask for a long life and a lot of money. That wouldn't be wise. In summary, the wisdom writer brings it down to two things: integrity and contentment.
- First, help me never to tell a lie.
- Second, give me neither poverty nor riches!
Wisdom says,
Make me a truth teller in all things, and when it comes to money, I don't want to be poor and I don't need to be rich.
- Tell the truth
- And don’t make a big deal about money.
Some people brag about how much money they have, while others complain about the cost of everything and what others have.
Live a generous lifestyle, i.e.
- always having ample after-school snacks for every kid in the neighbourhood
- making interest-free loans to people in need (and forgiving the debt when they couldn't pay it back).
- giving to the church and charities
Here's the interesting thing about this proverb.
Give me just enough to satisfy my needs. The only people who can have any concept of how much "just enough to satisfy my needs" is, are people of profound contentment. They are people who trust God.
For if I grow rich, I may deny you and say, “Who is the LORD?”
And if I am too poor, I may steal and thus insult God’s holy name.
Bottom line:
When the holy and fearful love of God is our center of gravity, we will think a lot less about money.
We will grow in the gift of contentment. The corollary is also true. When the love of money is the center of gravity, we will think a lot less about God. We will shrink in the grip of greed.
PRAYER
Abba Father, help me to never tell a lie and give me neither poverty nor riches. Teach my spirit the grace of contentment in all things. Then I will be truly wise. I pray in Jesus' name, amen.
PROMPTS
- Do you find it hard to pray, "Give me neither poverty nor riches"?
Why is that? - Have you been around families for whom everything always comes back around to being a money issue?
Why is that? - What is your disposition around money?
Never enough?
Always seeking more?
Content?
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