A Wise Prayer (2)

The Road of the Wise

Imasdali A.0;k Mu

Imasdovnin Jampan

Luke 12:13-22

Two wishes, no poverty, and no excess richness.

Well, poverty and richness are related with daily work. Let me start by saying how important it is to work.

Work is the means by which we gain our daily “bread.”  Some commentaries even say that when Jesus used the term “daily bread” he related it with this prayer in Proverbs. Work is good. Work is a blessing, and if we don’t work, we don’t eat.  God commanded Adam to work:  “The LORD God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it.” (Gen 2:15)

God created work as a good thing.  Yet, because of sin, “work” became harder  (Read Gen 3:17-19).  Watch out:  the soil was cursed and not work itself.  I think God is teaching humanity a very important thing.  God’s purpose in cursing the ground was to teach us something, not to punish us but to redeem us. He did not want mankind to find ultimate fulfillment in work, so that they will seek daily their Heavenly Father, the Creator.

I love to work; it energizes me.  I like to accomplish things; it motivates me. However, work can also be frustrating.  It has “thorns and thistles”.  We may love our job but hate the boss, or like the boss but hate the job, love the work but hate the environment, love the work but hate the payment, you name it… You see work is good; it is given by God, but it will never and never satisfy our inner longings.

When work is a frustration, then it becomes extreme stress; we lose the perspective of management of life, money, priorities and so on.

The second petition in this prayer:

“Do not make me rich.” Why? Everyone likes to be rich. The first petition is OK, but why not richness? Why? The author answers:

“…lest I be full and deny you and say, ‘Who is the Lord?’” (vs 9)

Somehow excess income makes us think we have everything and we are in control of everything. The author is worried that when he becomes rich he will deny his Lord. This is right; God becomes irrelevant. God does not have any place in the person’s life. The rich man forgets that nothing belongs to him/her, it is all borrowed. It is like the parable of fool rich man who keeps accumulating riches without realizing how short his life is.

D.L. Moody once said:

“Life is simply a stewardship and not ownership.”

We think we own things; my car, my home, my work, my family, my and my and my… We are mistaken. Nothing belongs to us; everything is entrusted to us for our use.

What exactly Mr Agur is asking from God?

“…give me neither poverty nor riches;
feed me with the food that is needful for me.” (vs 8)

The original word for “food” is “daily bread.”

I wonder why Jesus said, “Give us this day our daily bread.” He taught us we need to trust God daily. God provided daily manna and meat to the Israelites in the desert, and He commanded them not accumulate them. He promised them daily provision.

Our author is asking for the same thing from God. Do not make me poor, rich; just give me my daily needs, and use me the way you want. I am your servant.

The prayer is not about money; it is about our attitude towards money.

This prayer is a wise one, because the man is learning that the best way for him to be content in life is to surrender to God and balance his life. Too much poverty will lead him to steal and disobey God; too much income will make him leave God also. In other words, he is telling God that he cannot make it alone; he is giving up everything and letting God be in control.

Going back to the two sections of this prayer:

- A defense against deception and falsehood

- A healthy attitude towards money

What is the connection of deception and falsehood with finances?

Our author Mr. Agur is fed up of lies and a life of deception.

“Remove far from me falsehood and lying;” (vs. 8)

In other words: “Lord, I am tired of making wrong choices in life; I am tired of pretending to be someone that I am not, just to impress others. I want to be a genuine person. I am also tired of people lying to me and cheating me.”

I have seen rich people trying to impress others with their work, with their title, with their income. Also I have seen poor people trying to impress others by a fake identity. (Do you remember the couple who were not invited for the President’s banquet, yet they cheated and went and took pictures…..?)

(How about the balloon boy parent? )

Your income should not be telling you who you are! Our worth is not determined by our income. Each of us is precious, because God gives us our value and not our positions. The world deceives us by teaching us the opposite. People first ask your name, your occupation, and the company you work for. That is not our value.

Summary:

I don’t know where you stand today. Where do you see yourself? Rich? Poor? Hardly making it? Not enough? More than enough?

Wherever you are, make this prayer yours.

My best conclusion would be the words of Jesus about value, worth, trust, worry, anxiety about the uncertain future.

“Consider the ravens: they neither sow nor reap, they have neither storehouse nor barn, and yet God feeds them. Of how much more value are you than the birds! And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? If then you are not able to do as small a thing as that, why are you anxious about the rest? Consider the lilies, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass, which is alive in the field today, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, how much more will he clothe you, O you of little faith! And do not seek what you are to eat and what you are to drink, nor be worried. For all the nations of the world seek after these things, and your Father knows that you need them. Instead, seek his kingdom, and these things will be added to you. (Luke 12:24-31)

King David says: “Blessed is the man who makes the Lord his Trust.” (Psalm 40:4)

AMEN