Proverbs 30:8

The book of Proverbs gives us insights into so many different areas of life. The book gives us instruction on how to live our lives for God. Here is a proverb that gives us insight about lies and truth and rich and poor:

Proverbs 30:8 (ESV)

Remove far from me falsehood and lying;

give me neither poverty nor riches;

feed me with the food that is needful for me,

This proverb is written in connection to the one that proceeds it and the one that follows.   The writer is asking God for two things to happen in his life.  He wants to be sure that those he talks to are truthful and he wants to make sure that any gain he gets is not so much that he will not need God, or too little that he would forget the principles of God and go forth and steal.   He only wants whatever is his "portion" (he doesn't declare to God what that portion should be, only that God would grant it).   This has been my prayer for most of my adult life.   It involves having great and truthful communication and having a great and balanced perspective on this world we live in and serve God.   As to the first, their is nothing more refreshing than to have someone tell you the truth and you know that it is indeed the truth.   Yet, there is nothing so devastating or off-balance in life when you discover someone has lied to you and they cannot be trusted to speak the truth to you.   The same is true of riches of this world.   Knowing you have your "portion" and you trust God for whatever that portion might be, is a refreshing way to approach the world.  I doubt too many people have every prayed, "God, don't make me rich."   But a wise person knows that riches can (and often do) lead to destruction of the soul and balance of life.   Solomon tells us in Ecclesiastes that having too much money is vexing to the soul, because you always worry about where it is and how it is doing.   So, too, the poor, man, however.   He prays that he will not be poor.  (Many people have prayed this prayer.)   Yet, the point of the prayer is not to avoid poverty so that we can be comfortable, but, just like being rich, it can lead to moral depravity.   The writer of this proverb wants us to have faith in God for what we need and not be lead astray by any extreme of this world.   Only God can protect us from these struggles and dilemmas of life.   We must approach life by faith and ask God to grant His blessing on us.