Proverbs 30

In recent times, there have been few television news programs you could watch without regularly hearing something about the rich and the poor, about extreme wealth and extreme poverty. Of course, folks on both sides of the issue tend to throw those words around without much definition, although we make a habit of talking about them in very clear-cut, black-and-white terms.

But the more I encounter what the Bible has to say on the subject, the more I’m puzzled, because the Bible doesn’t tend to be very clear-cut at all (certainly not as much as we are!) about it. Instead of treating the topic of rich and poor like a two-sided pancake, the emerging picture tends to be more like a multi-faceted diamond. Just when you think you’ve nailed something down in regards to rich or poor, a new angle will surface.

Today’s chapter was no exception. I found this fascinating: “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.” (vs 7-9)

I thought about this for a long time. I was intrigued by the idea that wealth and poverty potentially lead to the same place—temptation to sin. That sort of goes against our collective cultural thought at present, since many of us tend to the view the wealthy (no matter how they got that way) as filthy sinners, while the poor are viewed more as saints. Two questions kept rolling around in my mind: How could both groups be susceptible to the temptation to sin, and How are these groups defined?

The more I thought about the second question, the more confused I became. Let’s face it, poverty and wealth are extremely relative terms! I live in a modest home, own only one car, have no designer clothes or accessories, and am still paying off a number of debts. Compared to a great many people, I’m poor! (In fact, of all the people defined as “poor” in America, 92% have microwaves, 80% have air conditioning, 75% have one vehicle and 31% have two or more vehicles, and 65% have cable or satellite TV.)

On the other hand, compared to a great many people, I’m rich! In many places around the world, there are a lot of people who don’t have a reliable roof overhead, own a car, have more than the clothes on their back, or even have food in abundance. Compared to those people, I live like a queen! Compared to the Queen of England, I live like a street urchin!

Which is it? Am I rich or poor? I suppose if we tried hard enough, we could find the one richest person (monetarily speaking) on the planet and the one poorest person. Everybody else falls in between. With the exception of those two, there will always be someone who is “richer” than you and someone who is “poorer” than you.

Thus, having sorted out a bit of my confusion (not really!) over how those terms are defined, I turned my attention to the first question. How could both groups be susceptible to the temptation to sin? And here’s the answer that came to me: Both groups, as described by Agur, do not put their trust in God. That is (the) sin.

The rich are tempted to forget all about God and put their trust in their riches. They are tempted to say, “I don’t need anything from God.” On the other hand, the poor are tempted to forget all about God and put their trust in their own inventiveness in meeting their needs. They are tempted to say, “God won’t take care of me. I have to steal to meet my needs—and because I’m a victim, I’m entitled to do it.”

But, rather than putting our trust in anything or anyone else, God wants us to trust Him for daily bread. (And you thought that was something Jesus came up with!) Asking for daily bread means not complaining about the bread we had yesterday—even if it was a little stale or moldy. And it also means not worrying about the bread we will eat tomorrow. Daily bread is the only kind of bread we can eat! We can’t eat yesterday’s bread, and we can’t eat tomorrow’s bread. All we can do is trust God to give us what we need today.

God wants you to trust Him. Do you consider yourself poor? Great! Trust God to provide for your needs. Do you consider yourself rich? Great! Trust God to provide for your needs. He taught you to pray for daily bread; do so, and He will give it to you!