Keep falsehood and lies far from me;

.... give me neither poverty nor riches, but give me only my daily bread (Proverbs 30:8). This petition from Agur is a request for God to help him to be a genuine, authentic person. The Hebrew word translated here as falsehood also means delusion, emptiness  or vanity, pointless or worthlessness behaviour and idleness.  He wants lies neither to proceed from his mouth, nor the lies of others to find a resting place in his heart. Agur has just switched from instruction to petition. He tells us “Every word of God is pure; He is a shield to those who put their trust in Him. Do not add to His words, lest He rebuke you, and you be found a liar” (verses 5, 6). What he is seeing,  is that the character he desires comes from absorbing every Word that proceeds from the mouth of God (Matthew 4:4), not one word less, but neither one word more!

In asking that he be given neither riches nor poverty, Agur is seeking to avoid the deceitfulness of riches and the curse of poverty. It is the love of money,  not money itself,  that is the root of all evil (1 Timothy 6:10).  And Paul warns that “those who desire to be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and harmful lusts which drown men in destruction and perdition” (1Tim. 6:9).  The poverty Agur speaks of,  is the type of poverty we see in third world countries with its ravaging hunger and starvation, not that of which we speak in the West.  Agur warns himself of two dangers. The danger of being rich is that you forget God, the danger of third world poverty is that you seal and in doing so dishonour God (verse 9).

Coming to “give me only my daily bread.” I am reminded of Paul's “having food and clothing, with these we shall be content” (1Timothy 6:8).  Several years ago now, mother suggested that we adults give our Christmas gifts to charity, rather than giving each other things we don't really need, and often don't even want!  One of my favourite charities is Opportunity International. It “designs, delivers, and scales innovative financial solutions that help families living in extreme poverty build sustainable livelihoods and access quality education for their children.” They  “equip families with the tools and training they need to build their businesses, improve their harvests, provide for their families, send their children to school, and break the cycle of poverty.” They do it through micro – financing loans.  It is holistic,  and because of the way that they do it, has an astonishingly high rate of loan repayments! In other words gifts given there,  really do keep on giving!

Father,  we ask You this morning to put falsehood and lies far from us. Help us to daily feed not only our bodies, but our souls and spirits with Your life giving Word.  Help us to be the authentic people You call us to be, and to accomplish the good works that You have prepared for us to do (Ephesians 2:10).  Help us to learn not to go beyond that which is written (1 Corinthians 4:6), to learn with Paul to be content in whatever state we are in, and to not get caught up in all the hype of Christmas (Philippians 4:11). Help us also Lord to remember the poor (Galatians 2:10), and not to forget You at this season.  And Lord please help and protect those for whom Christmas is such a difficult time in Jesus Name Amen