A LIFE OF TRUTH AND CONTENTMENT

Proverbs 30:7-9 NIV  Two things I ask of you, O LORD; do not refuse me before I die:  (8)  Keep falsehood and lies far from me; give me neither poverty nor riches, but give me only my daily bread.  (9)  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.

 How relevant is this proverb today?  The author of this proverb asked for two things from the Lord before he died - a life of being truthful, and a life of contentment.

"Keep falsehood and lies far from me".  What’s the difference between falsehood and lying?

Falsehood is a state of heart.  It is a state of being untrue.  And it is usually seen in the life of a person.  The way he dresses up, the way he talks, the way he deals with others, the way he handles his business.  He portrays himself in a way that is not true.  His whole life is a deception.

This state of heart always leads to lying.  This is why the proverb groups both of them together – falsehood and lies, deception and lies.

We live in a world where falsehood and lies dominate the heart of people.  We do not know anymore if someone is being sincere and honest with us.  As Billy Joel sang “honesty is such a lonely word, everyone is so untrue”.  It’s a world where falsehood and lies is a norm.  We see it in government, in the corporate world, in business, in relationships.  It is hard to trust in anyone today.

 But for a Christian we should live lives where no one will ever doubt our sincerity, our honesty.  The New Testament writings use a number of words to describe this life God desires us to live - blameless, integrity, truthful.

But let’s be honest – it is tempting, because in this world falsehood and lies usually leads to gain and profit.  To get what we want we deceive, we hide the truth.  We lie to gain a sale, profit, or even for pride and position.  This is why have the second part of this proverb:

(8)  …give me neither poverty nor riches, but give me only my daily bread.

Neither poverty nor riches.  Just our daily bread.  Jesus used this same phrase when He taught us how to pray in Matthew 6:11 NIV  Give us today our daily bread.  It's interesting how many recite this, pray this verbatim, but don't really understand it.  We don't actually pray for it.

God gave this same lesson to the Israelites during their forty year trek through the wilderness.

Deuteronomy 8:2-3 NIV  Remember how the LORD your God led you all the way in the desert these forty years, to humble you and to test you in order to know what was in your heart, whether or not you would keep his commands.  (3)  He humbled you, causing you to hunger and then feeding you with manna, which neither you nor your fathers had known, to teach you that man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of the LORD.

Imagine - manna, coming from the ground, every day for forty years, the same food day after day.  And they could only get what they needed.  If they got too much it would rot.

God was teaching them to trust in Him.  If He said that He would take care of them, they were to trust Him. If He said that this manna was what they needed, they were to trust Him.

They were to be content with Him and His words.  So far from the state of our hearts, right?  Be honest.

Contentment is not just absent in the heart of men in this world, we, Christians, struggle with it too.  

But it is very obvious in this world.  Our hearts are all wired to desire more.  We are never satisfied.

It's the life of the world.  It's a struggle for the Christian heart.  Notice how difficult it is for us to even think of praying this, more so to actually make this our life - a life of neither poverty nor riches, only our daily bread.

 Why is it almost natural for us to live a life of falsehood and lying?  Why is contentment such an alien attitude of heart?  It’s because of our sinful nature.

When Adam and Eve sinned they were tempted to think of themselves first.  The satisfaction of self, the priority of our lusts and desires, go against God and the life He wants us to live. It was rebellion against what God had prepared for them.  And each one of us were born with this sinful nature.

This is why we need a Savior.  This is why Jesus came, to be the sacrifice acceptable to God to pay the price, the ransom, that will release us from this hold of sin in our hearts.

But even for those of us who are saved, and who walk with God, this is a struggle.  Again, this is why this proverb is so relevant.

(8)  Keep falsehood and lies far from me; give me neither poverty nor riches, but give me only my daily bread. 

 Why should a Christian pray for this?  Because when a heart is born again, we are given just one desire - to live for God, to live according to His ways, to glorify Him.

(9)  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.

If we have too much, we may DISOWN HIM.  If we have too little we may lie and steal, and DISHONOR HIM.

The desire of a Christian’s heart is simple – we do not want to disown or dishonor our God.  God becomes our utmost desire.  He alone satisfies us.  His will becomes our desire.  And we will not allow anything or anyone to take this away.  This is why we live sincere and honest lives.  This is why we just pray for our "daily bread", for what God desires for us to have.  So that God remains who He is in our hearts.

The apostle John warns and encourages us:

1 John 2:16-17 NIV  For everything in the world--the cravings of sinful man, the lust of his eyes and the boasting of what he has and does--comes not from the Father but from the world.  (17)  The world and its desires pass away, but the man who does the will of God lives forever.

Let's make sure that the Proverbs 30 prayer becomes the very foundation of how we live before God and before others.

Let's live a life of sincerity and honesty, and with contentment, trusting in the Lord with all of our hearts.