Enough From God

5 Every word of God proves true (pure). He is a shield (refuge) to all who come to Him for protection. … 7 O God, I beg (ask) two favors from You; let me have them before I die. 8 First, help me never to tell a lie. Second, give me neither poverty nor riches! Give me just enough to satisfy my needs. 9 For if I grow rich, I may deny You and say, “Who is the Lord?” And if I am too poor, I may steal and thus insult God’s Holy Name.

Proverbs 30:5, 7-9 (NLT).

Wisdom teaches us that wealth and poverty can be hazardous to our spiritual as well as physical health. Wealth or poverty is not a sin (Proverbs 3:9-10, Proverbs 10:15, 22; Proverbs 11:24; Proverbs 28:27; Proverbs 29:7). However, both extremes of wealth and poverty are filled with dangers and can tempt us away from God. Wealth prevents some people from entering heaven because of their pride and self-reliance on their wealth and not God (Psalm 15; Matthew 19:16-30). Wealth can cause people to disown and not trust God as their provider.  Nevertheless, poverty can cause some people to steal to provide for their needs and not trust God (Proverbs 30:8–9).

To avoid both extremes, Agur offered a simple prayer for our daily needs from God to find daily contentment, peace, and joy (Proverbs 30:5, 7-9; see also Matthew 6:11). Our lives are more likely to be happy if we have "neither poverty nor riches." As the Holy Bible teaches, we must look to God and trust God faithfully, daily, and wholeheartedly (Proverbs 3:5-10).  Even more, the Holy Bible teaches us to seek God to provide our daily needs and help us live according to His will and purposes, whether we have little or plenty (Matthew 6:11; 1 Corinthians 10:31; Philippians 4:12). As we trust God for our daily needs, we can go about Kingdom ministry relieved of care and worry (Matthew 6:25-34).

Spirit Filled Life Study Bible. Thomas Nelson, 1991.
Life Application Study Bible. Tyndale House Publishers, 2005.
NLT Study Bible. Tyndale House Publishers, 2008.