LIVING WATERS
For the proclamation of the Gospel and the edification of the Body of Christ
Neither Poverty Nor Riches
"Give me neither poverty nor riches; provide me with the bread I need" (Prov. 30:8).
It is true that this text speaks of poverty of money and riches of unrighteousness, as well as of the bread that is necessary for the body, but the Word comes from a God who is spirit. All of God's teaching to us is spiritual; it is for the spiritual man, born of the Spirit.
Poverty, wealth and bread can also be on the level of the spirit. "Give me not poverty". Spiritual poverty is worse than the poverty of goods, because the poverty of goods is temporary, but spiritual poverty can bring eternal harm. "And the fire shall try every man's work of what sort it is. If any man's work abide which he hath overbuilt, he shall receive a reward. If anyone's work is burned up, he shall suffer loss, but he himself shall be saved, though as by fire" (1 Cor. 3:12-15).
Spiritual poverty occurs in those who become slow of hearing, despising the teaching, exhortation and trials that God sends for our enrichment. "For when ye ought to be teachers now, after so long a time ye have need that ye should be taught again what are the first rudiments of the words of God; and ye have become such as have need of milk, and not of solid food" (Heb. 5:12).
Wealth is the other side, but it can also become a great spiritual evil: "Nor riches". It is not that which is in Christ (which is a treasure), but that which we think we have in our flesh. Knowledge or wisdom puffeth up, but love edifies (1 Cor. 8:1). The church in Laodicea is the testimony of where we can go with this wealth, or spiritual pride (Rev. 3:17).
Once a married couple said to me: "We live so quietly; we have everything, God has blessed us on all sides, we suffer nothing". I told them: "That is for a short time, while you are children in Christ, but the Father will not leave you poor like this; the time of true enrichment will come". They may not remember that, but they have long since been exercised and have received spiritual enrichment (Col. 2:2-3).
The wealth we should not desire is that which makes us haughty, which makes us dependent on it and not on Christ (1 Tim. 6:17-19). These are riches of unrighteousness that we can use to win friends, because one day we will no longer need them (Luke 16:9).
Our prayer to the Lord is that he will give us neither poverty nor riches, but only the bread that is necessary for us. That bread necessary for each day is Christ, the bread that came down from heaven and satisfies every man (Jn. 6:48, 50, 57). In Christ is all our true wealth, as well as the satisfaction of all our hunger. Christ is sufficient for us.