With all the talk about our economy, I am reminded of a proverb that speaks very wise and pointedly about personal economy.

Proverbs 30:8-9 reads:

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.

I in no way want to minimalize the struggle of the least fortunate in our country by the following sentence.  By and Large, historically and globally, the least fortunate in our country are not (globally) and would not be (historically)  recognized as being “poor”.  Globally and historically, the poor have died prematurely of starvation and lack of clean water.  The poor in our nation, for the most part, die old from cancer, heart disease and diabetes.

There are many in our world plagued with poverty, the kind that kills from hunger pains.  Any one of them would love to live like the “poor” in our nation.

I say all this, as I noted earlier, not to make little of the plight of those who are the least fortunate in our nation, but rather, to reinforce the idea that you, the one reading this blog post, are far from experiencing poverty.  You are likely reading this blog post, somewhere in the U.S. from your personal computer, or one purchased by the university you attend, or the community library that you are a member of.  If you face any economic danger, it is not the danger of poverty, it is the danger of wealth.

How is wealth dangerous?  If we are rich, we are likely to forget God as the provider of our daily bread.  How did you get use of the monitor you are using to read this blog post?  God.  God provided it to you, out of His abundant mercies.  How were able to enjoy that premium hamburger at your favorite fast food resturaunt?  Who provided it for you?  It came directly from the hand of God.  Many of us acknowledge these ideas as theologically accurate, but we do not feel them to be true as we ought.   

When we fail to acknowledge God as our sole provider (in our hearts, not just in our minds), due to our wealth:

1.  We become self-sufficient and prayerless.

2.  We become unthankful and cold hearted. 

3.  We fail to use the ‘things’ He has given us for purposes that glorify Him. 

If we have ever prayed this prayer of Agur, “give me neither poverty nor riches,” then perhaps the national economy’s effect on our pocket book is an answer to this prayer.  If we do not feel our realiance upon God for our daily bread, both physical and spiritual, then perhaps we should have the courage to pray this proverb once more.