*Proverbs 30:5-6*
The Book of Proverbs is full of gentle, pithy,
sometimes trenchant words of wisdom. These
wisdom statements bear eternal truths, that is
why we can read them today, thousands of
years after they were penned, and still be
shaken and moved by them, still see their
wisdom. They are homey insights rooted in
common human experience. They are inspired
by the Holy Spirit. And, like all such proverbial
statements, they are intended to instruct us.
They are meant to show us, in simple terms,
how to live in accord with God’s eternal and
life-giving laws.
Every word of God is tested; he is a shield to
those who take refuge in him. Add nothing to
his words, lest he reprove you, and you will be
exposed as a deceiver.ʺ (Proverbs 30: 5-6)
These are the opening words of today’s
passage from Proverbs. They are very clear
and one does not miss their intent. We are to
take them as they are. We are not to add
anything to them. In their own way, they teach
us the importance of humility. To add anything
to God’s word, or worse, to subtract anything
from God’s word, would be a supreme act of
pride. Those who are ordained to teach and to
preach God’s word must do so with humble
fear and trembling, lest they fall victim to the
siren call of pride. God’s words are tested and
they are pure. We must approach them with
this understanding in mind.
The rest of the passage has the potential of
being a major challenge to us today. Especially
in our society, which gives so much
importance to wealth. To often in our culture,
wealth becomes an idol. This passage
challenges the gospel of prosperity directly.
And it does so, not by a direct condemnation,
but with simple, positive words of wisdom:
ʺTwo things I ask of you, deny them not to me
before I die: Put falsehood and lying far from
me, give me neither poverty nor riches;
provide me only with the food I need; lest,
being full, I deny you, saying, ‘Who is the
Lord?’ Or being in want, I steal, and profane
the name of my God.ʺ (Proverbs 30: 7-9)
There is the wisdom of a happy life. If we read
it correctly, we can see that it is rooted in the
humble recognition of our absolute
dependence on God. By keeping our eyes on
God, rather than on our material condition, we
are able to see the proper balance of a good
life. We can see that both riches and poverty,
if they become the sole concerns of our lives,
if they drive everything we do, they can draw
us away from ourselves, others, and God. We
can become driven by competition, by
comparing ourselves to others, and our lives
then can become a swamp of greed, jealousy,
anger, and despair. If, on the other hand, we
see the the wisdom of God here, if we see that
the Golden Mean, the balance, is the source of
happiness, then, if we are rich, we will be
happily detached enough from the idol of
wealth that we will give generously of our
time, treasure, and talent to meet the needs of
those who have not. Our wealth will not cause
us to have a false sense of ourselves. If we
truly understand the word of God here, we will
not let ourselves become too ‘full’ of the
‘comforts’ that our wealth makes available to
us at our instant demand, we will not deny
God, saying, ‘Who is the Lord?’ If I understand
God’s word here, and I am poor, and in want,
I will not be driven to steal, and in doing so,
profane God’s name.
In our world, there are human-created
conditions that cause directly affect the poor,
that even create the conditions of poverty, or
exacerbate them. The poor find little in the
way of support or sympathy. Remember the
parable of Lazarus and Dives. Lazarus, sat
begging every day before the gates of Dives’
house in his ragged clothes, his skin covered
with sores. Every day, Dives, in his comfort,
passed in and out of his door never paying a
moment’s attention to Lazarus, or his plight. If
Dives had paid heed to this passage from
proverbs and seen that his status and his
wealth were nothing in comparison to Lazarus’
suffering, he would not have found himself in
hell. Lazarus, on the other hand, did not steal
from Dives, did not, respond to Dives’
indifference with self-righteous anger. In his
day, of course, there were no social programs
like Welfare, or Social Security. The poor in
those days were said to be in that condition by
the will of God. That ‘theology’ has even come
down into our own times. That is a theology
that could only come from human pride. It
attempts to assign human pride to the will of
God. It turns God’s nature into something that
is arbitrary, even unloving. This can only come
from a heart that is too full of itself, that is
on the verge of denying God.
Let us all pray over these words of wisdom
from the Book of Proverbs. ʺTwo things I ask
of you…Put falsehood and lying far from me,
give me neither poverty nor riches; provide me
only with the food I need. Lest being full, I
deny you, saying, ‘Who is the Lord?’ Or, being
in want, I steal, and profane the name of
God. Let us pray that God teach our hearts
desire a holy balance, so that we may be truly
happy, in Jesus name. Amen.