Tuesday, October 3, 2017

BLESSED WITH NEITHER POVERTY NOR RICHES

Proclamation:
“Two things I ask of You, Lord; do not refuse me before I die: Keep falsehood and lies far from me; give me neither poverty nor riches, but give me only my daily bread.  Otherwise, I may have too much and disown You and say, ‘Who is The Lord?’  Or I may become poor and steal, and so dishonor the name of my God.”  Proverbs 30:7-9 (NIV)

Explanation:
The words of this proverb were written under the influence of The Holy Spirit of God by Agur, the son of Jakeh, and not by King Solomon.  Here, Agur asked The Lord God for two things.  First, he wants lies, and the people who tell lies, to be kept far from him.  Second, he does not want to be rich or poor, but somewhere in the middle so that his wealth, or lack of it, does not dictate his behavior.  As stated in the model prayer which Jesus, The Christ, taught us, “… Give us this day our daily bread …” (Matthew 6:11)

Application:
While the rich have things their way now, they may have a problem trying to enter heaven when this life ends. (Matthew 19:24)  The poor have a problem now trying to do the right thing and abide by the law when their basic needs are not met.  It is not good for us to have so much that we rely upon our wealth instead of trusting in The Lord God. (Proverbs 11:28)  It is also not good for us to have so little that we cannot provide for our basic necessities and are tempted to engage in illegal activities.  It is better to be blessed with just enough, somewhere between rich and poor, so that we can live, and not merely exist, and know that if it had not been for The Lord God that we would be much worse off.  All that we are, and all that we have, are blessings from The Lord God.  We need to acknowledge that and be thankful.

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