Proverbs 30: 8-9
8 ... give me neither poverty nor riches, but give me only my daily bread.
9 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.
Otherwise, I may have too much and disown you and say, 'Who is the LORD ?'
Every time powerball reaches $100 million plus I start having dreams of winning the big one. I have it all planned out. I would immediately call my lawyer and have him put together a contract in which all my family, close friends and favorite charities would get a nice chunk of change. You see, I would do it right. Despite this honorable intention I cannot deny that things would change. They would change inside me, change my relationships with family and friends and change my relationship with the Lord.
Many of us kid ourselves that if we were suddenly rich we would be the same person and our relationship with the Lord would not change. I contend that this is biologically impossible. Let's say a man has walked several miles to the store every day. He has to take good care of his feet and he has to stay in good physical shape. One day he finds a car in the yard that can take him to the store with less effort. His concern for the health of his feet are no longer the highest priority. Even if he continues to walk to the store to prove that the car has no affect on him, he knows it is there and at his disposal. The temptation is there and taking valuable brain cycles that were previously only dedicated to his feet. Eventually this man accepts that the car is his and drives everyday to the detriment of his exceptional health.
His willingness to give up the car on his own will be a battle that he may not meet successfully overcome. Typically it will take the loss of the car that will force the man to put the faith back into his feet.
CS Lewis said in Mere Christianity:
"One of the dangers of having a lot of money is that you may be quite satisfied with the kinds of happiness money can give and so fail to realise your need for God. If everything seems to come simply by signing cheques, you may forget that you are at every moment totally dependent on God. Now quite plainly, natural gifts carry with them a similar danger. If you have sound nerves and intelligence and health and popularity and a good upbringing, you are likely to be quite satisfied with your character as it is. 'Why drag God into it?' you may ask."
Or I may become poor and steal, and so dishonor the name of my God.
God has blessed my life in that I have never been poor. I have always been middle class and have never gone without. I have no concept of having nothing. Praise Him!!!! With that, I don't know if I would become a thief if I were poor. What I do know is that I have been a thief ironically when I had plenty. Having a good job and being comfortable was just not enough. I needed more and I justified my actions. "They don't pay me enough!", "They will never miss these pens or this paper!", etc, etc. Even with God's great gifts given to me I would continually dishonor Him.
If I ever become poor, perhaps I would buck the conventional wisdom and not resort to stealing. Perhaps the forced humility would bring me to my knees and more inclined to turn to Him. I honestly pray to never know that answer.
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