TLIC FAMILY. PROVERBS. NOVEMBER 23: NEITHER.

THINK TOGETHER.

Would you rather be rich or poor?         

READ TOGETHER

Proverbs 30:8-9. ⁸give me neither poverty nor riches; feed me with the food that is needful for me, ⁹lest 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.

Agur doesn’t want to be poor. That makes sense. But he also doesn’t want to be rich. Why not?

Agur is wise. He knows what most people don’t, that to be poor is not good, but also to be too rich is not good. But mostly he’s wise because he’s not just talking about money, he’s talking about how he relates to God, or how he fears the Lord. Agur knows that if he is poor he will be tempted to steal and profane the name of God by breaking on of his commandments. But Agur also knows that if he is rich he will be tempted to deny God and say, Who is the Lord? I don’t need God, I’m rich.

So Agur doesn’t want to be rich or poor. He simply wants the food that is needful for him. This prayer reminds us of the Israelites collecting the manna in the wilderness. Everyone had exactly what they needed for each day. No more, no less. They couldn’t collect too much and then sell it to get rich. Nor were they ever too poor and hungry. Years later, Jesus would teach us to pray this way: Give us this day our daily bread. Not more, not less. That’s all that Agur wanted too. Enough for today.

Some people think being poor is what God wants for us. Others think that God wants us all to be rich. Nope and nope. God wants us to trust him and his Son, Jesus for our daily “bread.” Jesus gives us just what we need for one day at a time. His mercies are new every morning, great is his faithfulness.

Because of Jesus we are always taken care of by God.

With Jesus we can trust him to supply what we need for each day.

DO SOMETHING TOGETHER

Listen to and sing Great is Thy Faithfulness together. Talk about how much we can trust God who gives new mercies day by day.

PRAY TOGETHER

Jesus, I don’t want to be poor, and I don’t need to be rich. I need to trust you. Help me to know that you are the best, not riches. Amen.