30 The sayings of Agur son of Jakeh contain this message.
I am weary, O God;
I am weary and worn out, O God.
2 I am too stupid to be human,
and I lack common sense.
3 I have not mastered human wisdom,
nor do I know the Holy One.
4 Who but God goes up to heaven and comes back down?
Who holds the wind in his fists?
Who wraps up the oceans in his cloak?
Who has created the whole wide world?
What is his name—and his son’s name?
Tell me if you know!
5 Every word of God proves true.
He is a shield to all who come to him for protection.
6 Do not add to his words,
or he may rebuke you and expose you as a liar.
7 O God, I beg two favors from you;
let me have them before I die.
8 First, help me never to tell a lie.
Second, give me neither poverty nor riches!
Give me just enough to satisfy my needs.
9 For if I grow rich, I may deny you and say, “Who is the Lord?”
And if I am too poor, I may steal and thus insult God’s holy name.
Proverbs 30:1-9
Dear God, I usually don’t like reading Proverbs because some of it feels like a list of fortune cookie sayings with disjointed verses put together. This part of chapter 30, however, is the kind of thing I like. It’s just the auther (and me) coming before you and asking that you protect me from myself. I’m thinking mainly of verses eight and nine. I love the idea of asking you to just give me my daily bread because if I’m rich I might lose my need for you. If I’m poor, I might lose my faith in you and do things that hurt others and cause others to think negatively of you because they know I’m yours.
I can think of one thing I did yesterday that was a sin. I was visiting with a friend, and he was expressing concern about the happenings in the world. Will the economy collapse? What will happen to all of us. As I tried to comfort him and talk about not looking for certainty in anything but you I found myself pointing to his job and how it seems like he works for a company that is solid and well-funded. So what did I do? I took his eyes off of you and put them on money. I still found an idol to comfort thim. Going back to verse two, “I am too stupid to be human.”
Father, I am, really, too stupid to be human. I’m sorry. I need you. You provide for me very well, and I am grateful. You provide for my work/vocation very well. I’m grateful. I’m probably not nearly grateful enough for either of those things. You’ve given me a peaceful, good life with my wife. We are both healthy. I’m not grateful enough for any of that. I’m not grateful enough for my children, parents, siblings… I’m not grateful enough for my friends. My country. This world. I’m not grateful enough for Jesus. For the Holy Spirit with me now. For you. I am too stupid to be human. Please make me a little smarter today. And thank you.
I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,
Amen
