“LORD, Please Give Me Just Enough!”

“Two things I ask of you, O 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, NIV.

Dear God, we need balance in our lives. As we come before You today, we ask that You will teach us how to acquire this balance and then live lives that are pleasing in Your sight! In the name of Jesus we pray. Amen.

I remember the first time I came upon this text, many years ago. I was surprised to find a text that spoke so eloquently to the reality of life in our society. Our world seems to be made up of primarily two classes:  the haves and the have nots! The poor and the rich. Those who have too much, and those who do not have enough. There seems to have been an all-out effort to get rid of a middle class. Apparently, it has aso become a trend in the way we live our lives – to live life at the extremes. We are either overeating or we are undernourished. We are either overworked, or we are idle. We either become fanatics in our service to God, or we become slack, and serve Him however we please! We are apparently unable, or not interested, in striking the right balance! Very few, if any, seem to have just enough, of anything!

There is a problem with living this way. It creates discontent, and discontent tempts people to commit unacceptable acts. Discontent has more than one face. Agur, addresses this problem by pointing out the results of life lived at the two extremes:  Self sufficiency, to the point where we declare our independence from God, and become our own gods. Satan was one who chose to walk that path. “I am big enough, and have everything I need, and I do not need God. I will set my throne above His throne.” So, “there was war in heaven” (Isaiah 14: 13, 14; Revelation 12: 7-9). This is not an uncommon scenario in our society. There are many folks who are so “well to do,” that they live to themselves. Their possessions become the sum-total of their existence! They have need of nothing, and oftentimes, of  no one, including their Maker!

God warned Israel to beware of this happening to them when He would bring them to take possession of the land of Canaan, “Be careful that you do not forget the LORD your God . . . Otherwise, when you eat and are satisfied, when you build fine houses and settle down, and when your herds and flocks grow large and your silver and gold increase and all you have is multiplied, then your heart will become proud and you will forget the LORD your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery . . . You may say to yourself, “My power and the strength of my hands have produced this wealth for me. But remember the LORD your God, for it is he who gives you the ability to produce wealth, and so confirms his covenant, which he swore to your forefathers, as it is today” (Deuteronomy 8: 10, 11a, 12-14, 17, 18).

Insufficiency, that leads to an unhealthy dependence upon the possessions of others, which sometimes lead us to help ourselves to what belongs to them. Neither position benefit those who are caught in the clutches of these circumstances. You will notice that two paragraphs earlier I used the words tempt us, and not make us, to describe how some deal with the dilemma caused by discontent. The reason being, we must all decide for ourselves, how we will handle our particular circumstances. There are several things that we can do to help pull ourselves out of the rut in which we may find ourselves. We can ask God for guidance in choosing a career and getting an adequate education to help improve our opportunity of employment. We can certainly do our best to live within our means. It is always a good idea to help someone who may also be in need. We never lose what we share. God always replaces it, in rather interesting ways! It is what we selfishly hold back that comes to nought (NONI=Nothing Out, Nothing In), because we have not made space for any additional blessings. We can endeavor to save, no matter how small, a percentage of our income, to get us through a rainy day. We can give God thanks for what He has already blessed us with and ask Him for the wisdom to produce an increase. We can be faithful to God in our tithe and offerings, and “prove Him.” I have!

After we have done all that we can; let us ask God for a contented heart, to be satisfied with, just enough!