If only I was rich…
“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.
Proverbs 30:7-9
I purchased more gifts than I planned this Christmas, spending a little more than I budgeted. Then the after Christmas sales tempted me to spend a little more, how could I pass up those deep discounts! Now reality has set in as the credit card bills started arriving, leaving me asking myself “How to make sure this doesn’t happen again?”. Part of my new year’s resolutions for this year includes paying off some bills to free up more money so I am not so dependent on a job, or at least a job at a certain salary level. If only I was wealthy I wouldn’t have this problem!
How surprising it is for the author of this scripture to ask to not be rich as well as poor. No one aspires to be poor, but we all dream of being rich. Most people have a plan if they come into a lot of money…quit your job, travel the world, buy a luxurious mansion with a swimming pool and movie theatre, buy multiple luxury cars… and the list goes on and on. But is there a problem with being rich? There is if we depend and focus on the material things and forget Who provided the riches, God.
So I will thank the Lord for providing me money to spend this past Christmas, then sit down and create my spending plan to achieve my goal of paying off my debits and saving for next Christmas season.
