By Asst Ps Lai Keet Keong
If there is one thing you wish, one thing to ask from God, and you are willing to pay any price for it, what would that be? Many of us have heard of the Prayer of Jabez. Some of us may not be familiar with the Prayer of Agur.
Proverbs 30:7-9 recorded, “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 dishonour the name of my God.”
Some believers find Agur's prayer too conservative, unlike the Prayer of Jabez. Yet we find uncanny similarities between Agur’s prayer and The Lord’s Prayer (Matthew 6:11 & 13) where Jesus prayed for the Father to give us our daily bread and to keep us from temptation. Poverty is a common temptation for lying, just as riches a common enticement for vanities. It is easy to become arrogant in our riches or choose to do wrong when we perceive our lack.
According to a survey by the American Council on Education in 1987, 75 percent of the 200,000 incoming freshmen who were polled felt that being well-off financially is either an "essential" or a "very important" goal. 71 percent said the key reason they went to college was so they could get high-paying jobs when they graduate. And only 39 percent thought it was vital to develop a meaningful purpose in life.
This is hardly surprising. Worldly values differ from Biblical values. And one of the problems may be our erroneous view of riches and poverty.
If we overvalue riches and undervalue poverty, we emphasize success and riches. We are willing to pay any price to obtain it, including costs to our health, relationships, integrity, faith and Church. We see other’s success and desire for it. We despise poverty and strive to do anything to get out of it. We see the poor as lazy, unwilling to learn, and despise them. We become impatient with them and feel superior over them. We become convinced that poverty is a sign of God’s curse.
On the other hand, if we undervalue riches and overvalue poverty, we look down on success and riches, we despise wealth and the wealthy. We think that wealth is carnal and cannot be used for God’s purposes. We become poor stewards because we have no interest in learning how to handle it. We choose mediocracy and become skeptical of the successful and rich. We think God loves only the poor, and as such, we do too.
My dear friends, what is your greatest desire as a believer? Where do success and wealth fit into God's plan for your life? And if it is not God’s will for you to be successful and wealthy, will you still serve this God?
An account was shared on how the Swedish soprano singer Jenny Lind disappointed many of her friends because she refused many performances that would have made her rich and famous. One day, a friend saw her sitting on the sunny beach and reading the New Testament and was surprised. The friend began to accuse the singer of laziness and not taking the opportunities in life. Jenny Lind immediately put her hand on her Bible and replied, “When every day made me think less of this (laying a finger on her Bible), and nothing at all of that (pointing to the sunset), what else could I do? The world may never understand our decisions to follow God. But then, perhaps God cannot understand a decision to pursue what the world offers when He has such great rewards in store for those who follow Him.”
The prayer of Agur is not a complacent prayer. It is, in fact, an earnest and fervent God-centered prayer. The prayer makes honouring God the priority in life, above anything the world has to offer.
My dear friends, may we grow in our love for God and for people, to serve humbly wherever God placed us, to actively reach out to the lost and the needy, and commit ourselves to helping others grow. Then do we truly embrace God’s abundant blessings in our lives and use them for His glory.
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