Daily Bread (Proverbs 30:7-9)
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 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 dishonor the name of my God
Proverbs 30:7-9
"I have these needs," she says. "I need an abundance of things. My closet is full. My pantry is stocked. And yet, if I really think about it, I'm not happy. I've recently discovered this about myself. I don't know how to change. I don't know where I should direct my life. I feel that my world is cluttered... a mess."
The listener sits back in her chair. The woman across the room is crying out for help. The listener knows she is limited to the wisdom God will pour out. She prays silently and speaks firmly. "Things. Stuff." The listener begins, "It burdens your soul. You cannot find happiness when you seek material, and not the spiritual."
"I've heard all that. I used to go to church. It didn't make me happy."
"And?" The listener asks when the woman across the room stops speaking.
"Too many rules."
"It is possible," the listener says, "that you did not like the way your life fit into those rules?"
The woman across the room stands. She looks at the items adorning the walls of her home. There is a beautiful tapestry with a Bible verse intertwined within the design. "Sometimes, it makes me happy for a brief moment when I find something like this. I like what the verse says. I hang it on the wall and then... I don't know how to live it, but I feel that living like this... maybe it's what life should be."
"Having enough... and no abundance."
"Yes. No burdens. My daily bread. How do I do this? I'm an old woman now. I'm alone."
"Stop listening to yourself. Those words are words we should all live by. 'Lord, give me enough, not too much, not too little. If the world lived that way, it would be a much better place."
"But it doesn't live that way," the woman across the room says as she returns to her chair. "This world, we all have to live in, says 'You never have enough'. It says you should have everything your neighbor has... and more. It says one is never enough... you should have two... or three. It says buy this... take this... the deal will never be better. This world is impressed by things. This world is impressed by money. You can't just have enough for today. You need to possess an abundance for tomorrow."
The listener gets up. She crosses to the other side of the room. She stands near the other woman for a minute, then turns to the tapestry. She studies the hanging cloth for a long moment. "It's a prayer. It's a prayer asking to have enough, not too little, not too much. I see these words, three verses from Proverbs thirty, verses seven through nine. I feel the concept in my heart. I hear the parable of the foolish man, who refuses to feed the hungry with his abundance, and instead builds barns to store his excessive amount of grain. This proverb was written by a man, a wise man, Agur son of Jakeh. The parable was spoken by Jesus... our Lord. He loves you despite the stuff in your life. He just showed us a way to empty ourselves, so we can love Him in return to the fullest."
copyright 2024 - Donald P James Jr
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