#riches

“Don’t freeze,” Shen Jiu scolds him, and he wraps their hands together instead, fingers interlocking with fingers. Both of their hands are ice cold, so it brings little relief - but just a bit. It’s better than nothing. “You’ll only make trouble for me.”

“… Alright,” Yue Qi says, but in the end he pretends to forget Shen Jiu’s words and starts to breathe on his hands for him again only some minutes later. Stubborn and stupid, impulsive and softhearted - such a terrible combination of traits, this boy wouldn’t survive a single winter without Shen Jiu to look after him.

It’s a good thing Yue Qi has him; who knows what a terrible state he would end up in without him.

The Deceitfulness of Riches

Artist: Eleanor Fortescue-Brickdale (British, 1872–1945)

Date: 1901

Medium: Oil on canvas

Collection: Private Collection

Description

Do you pray wisely? Do you pray fervently? You reveal your heart by your prayers. Life is short, and pleasing God should be your greatest ambition. Only a few men use their lives well in pursuing this noblest goal. Agur expressed himself strongly to God for two crucial factors in living a life to honor God. Admitting the brevity of life, and confessing his great need, he prayed aggressively for these two important things.

He first asked God to save him from vanity and lies (Pr 30:8).

He then asked God to give him only convenient and modest success (Pr 30:8). He wanted to avoid both poverty and wealth, knowing that each brought its own set of temptations and trials (Pr 30:9). He did not pray against both for the carnal difficulties each could bring, but rather for their effect on His love of God. Riches could puff up his mind and turn him away from God (Pr 18:11; 28:11; I Tim 6:6-10), and poverty could lead him to steal and disgrace God’s name (Pr 1:10-19; 6:30-31).

Dear reader, consider the spiritual weight of Agur’s prayer. Many pray against poverty. But few pray against prosperity. Is it possible in an age of greed and covetousness for a man to pray against poverty and prosperity? Is your affection on things above (Col 3:2)? Or do you mind earthly things (Phil 3:18-19)? Can your soul make this prayer sincerely?

“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 only 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."