Gold Nugget
Verse 8: "Remove falsehood and lies
far from me; Give me neither poverty nor riches-- Feed me with the food
allotted to me; 9 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."
Commentary
One of
the many names/titles that you may have often heard God referred to
as may be Jehovah Jireh - often translated as The Lord Who Provides.
Today's "gold nugget" shines the light on three positions in life:
the person who lacks what he needs to survive, the person who lives in
abundance and the person who has his needs meet without excess. We will quickly
look at these three situations and how they can affect your spiritual
condition.
·
The Person who lacks what he needs: The scripture from today's
proverb describes how people who lack can bring shame to His name. "lest
I be poor and steal, And profane the name of my God." Two
trains of thought - those who lack what they need may find themselves in a
state of despair, leading to potentially drastic
measures. The point in this verse raises the likely hood for being tempted to
steal, bringing shame to the name of the person you serve.
·
The Person who lives in excess: Jesus said "It's easier for a camel to fit through the eye of a
needle than for a rich man to enter the Kingdom of God". (Matthew
19:24) I believe today's "gold nugget" sheds light on this truth.
People who live in abundance often can't relate to being in need - even being
in need of a savior. They are so self-sufficient that they can't make the
connection with needing anyone aside from themselves. "Lest I be
full and deny You".
·
The Person who has their needs meet without excess:This
person fulfills what the Lord promises us in His Word. He will supply all
our need according to His riches and glory. He knows
what we have need of before we ask. Jesus said,
"Take no thought of what you will
eat or what you will wear". He takes care of the birds, He will take
care of you. This person is content with whatever God provides him, knowing
that God will not leave him starving and naked.
Over 20
years ago I asked my dad what he would want if God told him he could have any
single thing he asked for. Figuring he would follow the pattern of Solomon when
God made this offer to him, I expected him to ask for wisdom. Well, that was
appropriate for Solomon, but my dad responded differently and it
has stuck with me through the years. He said, "I would ask for
contentment." After considering it, it is quite profound. If I have
contentment, I have all I need or want. There is nothing I would ever have to
ask for. Why would I? I am content. It goes without saying that we are not
talking about being content with less than what we should be. It is more along
the lines of the words of Paul - "Not that I speak in
respect of want: for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be
content." (Philippians 4:11)
Prayer (For today, should the
prayer be any other than the gold nugget itself?)
Lord, remove
falsehood and lies far from me; Give me neither poverty nor riches- Feed me
with the food allotted to 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. Amen
If you are reading this devotional in an e-mail and would like
to post a comment, click on this link http://www.proverbfortoday.org/
No comments:
Post a Comment