A
daily, Bible-based perspective of hope, encouragement and
exhortation.
Thursday,
October
28,
2021
Late yesterday afternoon I took a trail ride on
the Lancaster Junction rail trail that begins near
Salunga, PA. This is a relatively short trail but a nice
ride after I take Ester to work.
"The
Prayer Of Agur Son Of Jakeh"
(Part 2)
(Part 2)
Listen to this message on your audio player.
“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).
In yesterday's message we considered
the first part of Agur's prayer, "Keep falsehood
and lies far from me". Today we examine the second
request.
We lived in New England in the
nineties and were only about 40 minutes from the
Atlantic Ocean so it was not unusual to see large boats
in driveways or parked in yards. Boat owners often name
their boats and one that intrigued both Brooksyne and me
was a boat we passed parked in a driveway named, “Never
Enough”. (Note: photo is not the same boat
and is used for illustrative purposes only.)I don’t know whether the owner’s message was
expressing, “There’s never enough time to enjoy this
boat” (since it seemed like it was always in the
driveway when we passed by), or was the name expressing,
“I want a bigger boat; this one is not big enough.”
Of course, our lesson today isn’t about how to buy and name a boat or even where you might park it. We’ve had no experience with that sort of thing, but we are certainly familiar with the attitude, “Never Enough”. Even though most of the Proverbs were written by Solomon Proverbs 30 records the sayings of Agur son of Jakeh. What a timeless truth he expressed as he introduces this section with these words that reveal his prayerful heart, “Two things I ask of you, O LORD” (verse 7).
Many
potential pitfalls abound in the life of faith and one
is the continuous tension between poverty and wealth.
How much is enough? Would you rather be rich or poor? I
know what most people would say!
Of course, our lesson today isn’t about how to buy and name a boat or even where you might park it. We’ve had no experience with that sort of thing, but we are certainly familiar with the attitude, “Never Enough”. Even though most of the Proverbs were written by Solomon Proverbs 30 records the sayings of Agur son of Jakeh. What a timeless truth he expressed as he introduces this section with these words that reveal his prayerful heart, “Two things I ask of you, O LORD” (verse 7).
Many
potential pitfalls abound in the life of faith and one
is the continuous tension between poverty and wealth.
How much is enough? Would you rather be rich or poor? I
know what most people would say!As I carefully and prayerfully consider
today’s verse I admit I have a hard time praying it
myself, especially the part, "but give me only
my daily bread". Now be honest, how many pray for
only daily bread? Most of us would desire riches
over poverty and certainly having more than just daily
bread (I like it toasted with butter and jam for a
start). I want my pantry to be filled with a variety of
food and all the other stuff that we are accustomed to!
But the wisdom of the prayer is always relevant and easily observable and is just as appropriate today as three thousand years ago:
Those
of us who live in the more prosperous regions of this
world tend to define "rich" as those who have more than
we do. Our economic classes reflect this. We may look up
the scale and then reckon ourselves not rich. For instance, I
am very poor compared to Elon Musk, whose wealth
increased a mere $36 billion on Monday to nearly 300
billion dollars. Bill Gates, who has $150 billion less
than Elon Musk, is comparatively poor so where does that
put me having some 150 billion less than Bill Gates (rounded)? I must
be living in abject poverty!
But the wisdom of the prayer is always relevant and easily observable and is just as appropriate today as three thousand years ago:
1) When things are going well and we’re
enjoying peace and prosperity and we have more than
enough, we’re prone to forgetting that this world is
not our home. We get comfortable and begin to drive
the stakes more deeply into our temporary tent along
with its values and earthly perspective. Our
heavenward view is obscured by our earthbound focus.
Our eyes and thoughts begin to feast upon the
pleasures of this life instead of the eternal Almighty
God. Agur put it this way: "I may have too much
and disown you and say, ‘Who is the Lord?’"
2) On the other hand when things are tough and we face a season of need we may resort to the arm of flesh (stealing in its various forms) to get by rather than trusting in the Lord. According to Agur we would, in this manner, "dishonor the name of my God".
2) On the other hand when things are tough and we face a season of need we may resort to the arm of flesh (stealing in its various forms) to get by rather than trusting in the Lord. According to Agur we would, in this manner, "dishonor the name of my God".
Those
of us who live in the more prosperous regions of this
world tend to define "rich" as those who have more than
we do. Our economic classes reflect this. We may look up
the scale and then reckon ourselves not rich. For instance, I
am very poor compared to Elon Musk, whose wealth
increased a mere $36 billion on Monday to nearly 300
billion dollars. Bill Gates, who has $150 billion less
than Elon Musk, is comparatively poor so where does that
put me having some 150 billion less than Bill Gates (rounded)? I must
be living in abject poverty!But in reality and in all honesty most of us are very rich when we consider the perspective of the tremendous poverty in many, many parts of the world, especially third-world countries. I have visited some of these countries and saw people that truly know the meaning of "daily bread". Most of us certainly have far more than just "daily bread" don’t we? Many of us have well stocked freezers and pantries and much more besides. We are surely among those Paul identified as “rich in this present world” (1 Timothy 6:17) and do well to regularly heed the cautions that accompany prosperity.* (see note below)
Today let us count our blessings, share generously from our bounty, and praise God from whom all blessings flow. Remember, our greatest riches are our riches in Christ which we share equally with those who also have faith in Christ yet may be among the world's poorest in goods!
I’d rather have Jesus than silver or gold
I’d rather be His than have riches untold
I’d rather have Jesus than houses or land
I’d rather be led by His nail-pierced hands
I’d rather be His than have riches untold
I’d rather have Jesus than houses or land
I’d rather be led by His nail-pierced hands
Be encouraged today, (Hebrews 3:13)
Stephen & Brooksyne Weber
Daily
prayer: Father, You
are the Giver of all good things. You have given us
so much and we are indeed grateful. Move upon our
hearts to be generous with our resources. When we’re
tempted to look at other’s possessions in comparison
to our own, bring to our mind those who have less
rather than those who have more. This will help us
to be more prayerful and generous toward those who
are without. It will also help us to be less whining
and more content with what we have. Amen.* The Apostle Paul’s words in 1 Timothy 6:17-19 are very instructive in this regard: “Instruct those who are rich in this present world not to be conceited or to fix their hope on the uncertainty of riches, but on God, who richly supplies us with all things to enjoy. Instruct them to do good, to be rich in good works, to be generous and ready to share, storing up for themselves the treasure of a good foundation for the future, so that they may take hold of that which is life indeed.”
In
spite of Elon Musk having some 300 billion times as
much net worth as I have, in reality I (and most of
you) have far more in common with the lifestyle of
Elon Musk than the hundreds of millions, likely
billions, of this world's people who live in truly
abject poverty.
Today's
Suggested
Music and Supplemental Resources
"I'd
Rather Have Jesus" Video Selah
Article about Elon Musk and
his gains on Monday. (Someone may want to
consider setting up a go fund me page for Bill
Gates)
The
Babylon Bee satire site just posted an
article "10 Great Things About
Hyperinflation" which includes this one:
Achieve your lifelong goal of becoming a
millionaire.
Heard
about this on the news last night. A motorcycle on a drone that
costs $682,000. Do you suppose Elon Musk might
talk this over with his wife and splurge on
this?
The Lancaster Junction rail trail
runs beside Chickies Creek.
Another
set of active railroad track joins the rail trail
at the northern end.
At
the end of the trail a very friendly Calico cat
greeted me. She appeared well fed and accustomed
to people so hopefully she hadn't been abandoned.
I don't recall ever paying attention to Calico
cats till we got our Calico kitten Gracie.
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& Brooksyne
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Personal Mission Statement: "I am created by God to bring Him glory. Through God's Son Jesus Christ I have been redeemed and make it my life's goal to please the Lord. My mission in life is to honor God through my faith and obedience and prepare myself and all whom I may influence for eternity."
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