Vol. 21 No. 33 | August 19, 2019
“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. (Proverbs 30:7-9, NIV)
On more than one occasion, I’ve prayed these words, followed by another prayer: “God, have mercy on me, a sinner.” (Luke 18:13, NIV)
Don’t get me wrong, I’m not a habitual liar, (although I may have just lied), and I always strive to tell the truth. But I’m human. There are times when I say I’m fine, and I’m not; when I tell someone I’m happy to see them, and I’m not; when I promised to pray for someone, and I didn’t; and when I allowed my silence to imply approval, when that’s not what I felt.
As far as money, wealth, and poverty go, I’ve tried to strike a balance. We’ve been very blessed throughout the years- never gone hungry and always had a place to live. But in truth, there is always an underlying desire to have more.
That said, I still do my best to practice contentment, and I know a balance of possessions is the best approach. But as my friend recently said, “Hit me up in an hour, and I may have already caught the 10 o’clock to Wantsville! But for now, I am content and at peace. God is good.
I think this prayer and my desire to live it can be summed up with my favorite line in O Sacred Head, Now Wounded: “Lord, let me never, never outlive my love to Thee.” (Bernard of Clairvaux)
I hope you’ll join me this week as I try to refocus my thoughts and daily living to reflect this ancient prayer- to live truthfully and to truthfully live with gratitude by trusting that the Lord knows what I need and will graciously provide.
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