“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)
The author of this chapter of inspired sayings is listed as Agur,
son of Jakeh. His name appears nowhere
else in scripture, yet what he had to say was considered worthy to be added to
the text.
This is a request from a Godly man who doesn’t wish to
displease the Lord in any way. His words
could be considered another reason why unbelievers call the Bible into
question. The world would never ask for
just enough to get by. They aspire for
greater things and greater things equates to large sums of money. When one has large sums of money they develop
a sense of invulnerability. Problems
don’t seem so large or difficult when you have money to make them go away. Those with no physical, material or financial
needs have a difficult time seeing the need for a Savior. Money is their Savior. Agur recognized that and prayed that he
neither have opulence nor poverty for he knew the temptation to dishonor God
with our words and deeds would escalate with each dollar either lost or
gained.
While we have no written proof, I suspect that God was pleased
to honor Agur’s request. Perhaps we should be praying the same way? Until next
time, walk with the King and be a blessing!
