"Two things I ask of you; deny them not to me before I die: Remove far from me falsehood and lying; give me neither poverty nor riches; feed me with the food that is needful for me, lest 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" (Prov. 30:7-9).
This prayer of a man named, Agur, is a fitting conclusion of this book. It teaches us the right attitude towards poverty and prosperity. Agur’s prayer is fascinating. In our prayers, we usually ask God for more “blessings” (translated, money and material things). We ask God for things that will make our life comfortable. Conversely, we ask God to take away things that make our lives miserable. Seldom do we seek the glory of God, whether in pain or pleasure.
However, Agur asks neither prosperity nor poverty. Rather, he asks just enough to meet his needs, so that he can honor God in his life. His main motivation in his prayer is neither the comforts of life nor the lack of it, but the glory of God.
God will surely answer the prayer that seeks His glory. Jesus tells us to seek first God’s kingdom and his righteousness. God shall then add to us all the things we need (Matt. 6:33).
We ask God for prosperity. Yet God’s Word is generally ambivalent on the issue of prosperity. In Proverbs, prosperity is a blessing from God (Prov. 10:22; 22:4). Nevertheless, God also warns against it. "Do not toil to acquire wealth; be discerning enough to desist. When your eyes light on it, it is gone, for suddenly it sprouts wings, flying like an eagle toward heaven" (Prov. 23:4-5).
Prosperity pastors preach prosperity as the right of God’s children here and now. But the sage, Jesus, and the apostles teach the opposite. "Better is a little with the fear of the Lord than great treasure and trouble with it" (Prov. 15:16). Jesus commands that we seek prosperity in heaven, and not on earth (Matt. 6:19-21). He warns against coveting more possessions. "For one’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions" (Lk. 12:15). He exhorts against seeking earthly prosperity at the expense of heavenly riches (Lk. 12:15-21). He urges his disciples to deny themselves, sell everything, and give it to the poor for His sake (Matt. 19:16-30). Paul also warns against the craving for prosperity, leading rich believers into moral devastation (1 Tim. 6:9-10). John warns against “pride in possessions” (1 John 2:16).
Instead of seeking prosperity or shunning poverty, let us pray the prayer of Agur. Let us go up to the next level of spiritual living. Let us align our desires with God’s desires for us which is neither prosperity nor poverty. Rather, His desire is His glory in our lives. His desire is for people to know the Lord—His steadfast love, justice, and righteousness (Jer. 9:22-23). Let us therefore pray, not for prosperity or poverty, but for the glory of God in our lives.
The words “before I die” in Proverbs 30:7 denote “my remaining lifetime.” With Agur, let us desire the following two things for the remainder of our lives—(1) neither poverty nor prosperity and (2) only the food that we need.
As Agur needs neither poverty nor prosperity, so he does not also need “falsehood and lying.” Deceit might soon make him rich. Yet he has found out that such riches are quickly lost, leading to death (Prov. 21:6). Deception is an abomination to the LORD. It will disrupt his effort to live with the divine will. It will soon destroy himself and others (Prov. 6:16-19; 12:22; 26:28).
Yet the words “falsehood and lying” may refer to the falsehood and lying of both prosperity and poverty. What is the falsehood and lying of prosperity? The falsehood of prosperity is that we are self-sufficient, making us forget God or putting Him on the sideline.
An atheist was walking through the woods. He heard a rustling in the bushes, turned, and saw a large lion. He ran away as fast as he could. He looked over his shoulder and saw that the lion was closing in on him. He tripped and fell on the ground. He rolled over but the lion was already on top of him, raising its paw to strike him. At that moment, the atheist cried, “Oh, my God!”
Time stopped. The lion froze. The forest was silent. As a bright light shone upon the man, a voice came out of the sky. “You deny my existence for all these years, teach others I don’t exist and even credit creation to cosmic accident. Do you expect me to help you out of this predicament? Am I to count you as a believer?”
The atheist looked directly into the light, “It would be hypocritical of me to suddenly ask you to treat me as a Christian now, but perhaps you could make the LION a Christian?”
“Very well,” said the voice.
The light went out. The sounds of the forest resumed. And the lion dropped his right paw, brought both paws together, bowed his head and spoke: “Lord bless this food for the nourishment of my body, in Jesus’ Name. Amen!”91
It is not just the atheists who live like there is no God. There are also prosperous Christians who behave as if God is only the God of Sundays. They behave as if they do not need God, except in a crisis. The lie of prosperity is that you no longer need God. You have no use of God. You have everything. However, you forget that everything that you have comes from God. Such is the deception of prosperity.
On the other hand, there is also the lie of poverty. The lie of poverty is that you no longer need to fear, reverence, and obey God. You stop trusting God. You resort to harming others.92 In this case, Agur fears that if he is poor, he might steal from others and thus profane God.
In v. 9, the verb “profane” (tapa) means “seize, take hold of.” The background is the Mosaic Law. "You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain" (Ex. 20:7). "You shall not swear by my name falsely, and so profane the name of your God: I am the LORD" (Lev. 19:12). Hence, to “profane” the name of the LORD is to “take” His name in vain. It means to disrespect and dishonor God.
Some people who live in poverty take matters into their own hands. They have lost faith in God. They steal, cheat, and do things contrary to God’s will. Poverty becomes an excuse for disobedience of God’s law. That is the lie of poverty.
Thus, Agur’s prayer for the removal of falsehood is merely introductory. The main point of his prayer concerns only two things—(1) do not give me poverty or riches; (2) give me only the food that I need.
Agur does not ask for more or less, but only enough. That is what we should ask God concerning material things. Do not ask for more or less than you need, but just enough of the things you need.
Is that not what Jesus taught us to pray? He said, "Give us this day our daily bread." We are to ask for daily bread, not for bread for the next 30 days. If we ask for bread for the next 30 days and God supplies it, we might stop trusting God. But we need to ask only for our daily bread, so we will learn to trust God daily. We need not ask for more or less, but only our daily bread.
If you have one cell phone that meets your need, why crave for the latest android on the market? If you have one car that meets your need, why buy one more? If you do not need an iPod, why buy one? We crave for more things. We forget Jesus’ warning against covetousness—the craving for more possessions. Then when we possess these things, we take pride in them. We show them off to others. John calls it the pride of possessions.93 It is called worldliness—loving the things of this world. But God hates worldliness (1 John 2:15-17).
What motivates the prayer of Agur? Two things drive Agur—positively, the glory of God; and negatively, the realization of the deceit of his heart. First, he is concerned for the glory of God in his life. He does not want riches or poverty to rob God of His glory in his life. He seeks only the supremacy and lordship of God in his life.
Second, he is concerned with the deceitfulness of his heart. He knows that when he gets rich, he may forget God. He also knows that when he becomes poor, he may profane God. He knows that the heart is deceitful above all things.
Nobody can fathom the sinful human heart. If you have money, you might deny the Lord. If you have no money, you might steal and bring dishonor to the Lord.
The problem with abundance is that we might seek more abundance (Prov. 27:20; 30:15). We are never satisfied. But to seek prosperity, Paul warns, is to fall into temptation, into a trap, and into many harmful desires that lead to destruction (1 Tim. 6:9-10). The problem with poverty is that we might believe falsely that what is not ours is ours.
Thus, Agur was wise to ask neither prosperity nor poverty. Rather, he asks only enough to meet his needs. The reason is that he seeks the glory of God in his life. Seeking God’s glory, he will not ask for prosperity, lest he will deny God. He will not ask for poverty, lest he will dishonor God. Seeing that his heart is deceitful, he asks neither poverty nor riches.
That is the wise attitude toward prosperity and poverty. That is how we should ask God concerning money. We should ask one-eyed. One eye looks up to heaven. The other eye looks down at our hearts. We should ask God, while searching our hearts.
Ask not riches, lest you will deny God. Ask not poverty, lest you will profane God. But ask how you can glorify God. Ask how you can be faithful to God. Ask how you can overcome the deceit of your heart. Ask not for more or less, but only your daily bread. Rest content in whatever God shall give you.
Seek the glory of God in your life. Then you will live a blessed life!
Endnotes
91 “An Atheist in the Woods.” Cited March 31, 2012. Online: “http://www.sermonideas.net/view/An-Atheiest-in-the-Woods/.
92 Constable, Notes, 66.
93 The word for “possessions” (Gk. bios) means (1) “life” or (2) “livelihood, property . . . 1 J 3:17 . . . pride in one’s possessions 2:16.” Gingrich, Shorter, s. v. ß???. In 1 John 2:17, the word bios is better translated as “possessions” (ESV), “what he has and does” (NIV), or “riches” (NRSV). It fits the context of “the things of the world” (v. 15) and “all that is in the world” (v. 16). In 1 John 3:17, the same word is rightly translated as “goods” (ESV, NKJV, NRSV) or “material possessions” (NIV), which also fits the context.
