A Closer Walk
"Two things I asked of Thee, 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, Lest I be full and deny Thee and say, 'Who is the Lord?' or lest I be in want and steal, And profane the name of my God," Proverbs 30:7-9 NASB. This chapter of Proverbs is credited to Agur, the son of Jakeh. Some believe he was not an actual person. Others believe he was a compiler of proverbs of Solomon. Regardless, this chapter is included in the Canon of Scripture and so we know that our God wants us to have it as part of the wisdom collection in our Bibles. For our purposes today I am proceeding on the supposition that Agur was a real person who held the pen that put these words on the paper.
The wisdom contained in these three short verses is profound. Two things he asked of God, "to keep deception and lies far from him." Isn't that something we all desire? Do we want to be surrounded by lies and deception? No, of course not. As believers we yearn for truth and truthfulness. And this passage in Proverbs rings true in our spirit, and we understand it. Keep deception and lies far from us, O Lord. And we echo a hearty yes, yes, a thousand times yes, to that request! Because we desire truth and we wish to hear truthfulness.
Then Agur asks for God to give him neither poverty nor riches. The depth of the wisdom in this statement cannot be overstated. Give me neither poverty nor riches. Just give me the food that is my portion. Our Lord created us to require food to nourish our body. A full tummy is our "gas tank" so to speak. Our bodies require food for fuel. If you have ever skipped a meal you realize that you tend to become lethargic, and you may not have a lot of energy for the tasks of the day. Because we were created to require food for fuel.
Agur then explains why he desires neither poverty nor riches. If we have enough, or even an abundance, we could forget our Lord who provided for us. We may believe that we ourselves provided this food. By the power of our own might we have obtained this meal. Our farmers might take exception to that. For they are in the business of growing food. Remember, food starts as a seed put into the ground. Whether the crop is made into bread or it is fed to livestock, it becomes food for us. And our God intends for us to enjoy our meals.
If we are in poverty and suffer lack because we do not have the food to feed ourselves Agur recognizes that we could steal, and thereby profane the name of our God. As Christians we are commanded to abstain from evil. Stealing breaks one of the Ten Commandments, doesn't it? But if we are hungry enough we would be tempted to do exactly that. An empty stomach is a powerful motivator.
So the simple request, "Give me neither poverty nor riches," is deep in wisdom. And deeply profound. The result is that it keeps us from temptation in either circumstance. If we have riches, such as winning the lottery, we could become full of ourselves and turn from our God. "Who needs God when you have lots of money?" As children of the Living God we know that we always need God, even in the good times. If we are in poverty we might be tempted to do things we wouldn't be pleased with.
Asking our God to keep lies and deception far from us, and asking Him to give us neither poverty nor riches are both wise and prudent prayer requests. Agreed?