7-20-2022

Good Morning!    

    Proverbs 30: 8b-9; “give me neither poverty nor riches; feed me with the food that is useful for me, lest I be full and deny you and say, "Who is the Lord?" or lest I be poor and steal and profane the name of my God."

    This is the second part of our prayer. Here we see something unique. Agur is praying, not for abundance, but enough to live on. He sees that he needs balance in his life. If he has too much, he fears forgetting God and his blessings. If he has too little, he fears he may steal and then, by breaking the commandments, profane (dishonor) God’s name. This is a very self-aware person. If he has too much, he fears walking away from God; if he has too little, he fears dishonoring God. Do we pray for, “enough but not too much”? Or do we pray for “more, more, more!!”

    I remember watching a comedic movie a number of years ago and in one part a group of people went on a boat to watch the whales. They sailed and sailed and didn’t see anything and the passengers began to grumble. After a long while someone saw some whales off of the one side. Everyone ran to that side and the ship tilted that way. The passengers panicked and they all ran to the other side and the ship titled that way, so they ran back, and the ship titled again. This went on for a few tries until finally a little boy told them to stop and stand in the middle of the ship and soon it was on even keel again. For the ship, a sense of balance with the passengers spread out in a pattern that allowed the ship to sail even was needed. Here, Agur is praying for balance, for contentment. He wants enough to be able to live but not too much so that he forgets God’s goodness in all of his life.

    A prayer for contentment, this is probably not prayed as much in the United States as it probably should be. How often is our prayer for “more” and not a prayer for “enough?” Does our prayer for “more” lead us to envy, jealousy, divisions, greed, selfishness, and things of this nature? The desire for “more, more, more” also causes us the stress of running around and chasing wild ideas and get rich quick schemes, plus the stress of the amount of time we spend and the relational cost which this entails. A prayer of a man who maybe had too much and regretted the way he turned out.

    The thing about this type of prayer is that it encourages us to want enough but not too much; it prays for balance in our lives including a time to refresh and worship God in his grace and mercy and to be in his presence with joy and thanksgiving and not looking at our watch wondering when this over so we can go back to making money.

    Balance in life is something that Scriptures encourages us to desire. A time to sow and a time to reap, a time of joy and a time of sorrow, a time of balance in our life remembering that we live in God’s grace by God’s grace.

Father, lead me to a life that is content and satisfied with all that you give me. Keep me from greed but also from dire struggles. Keep us focused on your great love and mercy so that we may rest in your loving arms and rest with you in peace. In the precious name of Jesus we pray, amen.

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret