Scripture: Proverbs 30:7 – “Remove far from me falsehood and lying; give me neither poverty nor riches; feed me with the food that I need…” (NRSV)
We all know the story of Goldilocks and the Three Bears, with the Baby Bear (and Goldilocks herself) liking the porridge and chair and bed that we not too hot or hard and not too cold or soft, but just right. You may be aware of the “Goldilocks Zone” in astronomy, the distance from a star in which life as we know it can exist, neither too hot nor too cold, but just right. But the Bible teaches us that there is also a “Goldilocks Zone” for how we live our lives as well.
Among the proverbs attributed to Agur, son of Jakeh, are sayings about truth and wisdom, and finding the right path between ignorance and delusion. Not enough wisdom leads to confusion and error, while too much wisdom leads to sophistry and arrogance. Neither is conducive to proper faith and living.
This is true about money, upon which our faith touches as well. Agur prays that he might have neither poverty, nor riches. He writes “give me neither poverty nor riches; feed me with the food that I need, or I shall be full, and deny you, and say, ‘Who is the Lord?’ or I shall be poor, and steal, and profane the name of my God.” On a practical level, it is obvious why he would not want poverty, lacking the necessities of life, so focused on survival as to not see or appreciate much else. And as students of the Bible know, wealth can also be a problem. There was the rich young man who could not follow Jesus’ command to give up his possessions, leading to Jesus saying, “It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God. There were Ananias and Sapphira, who were struck dead for reneging on their promise to share their wealth with the early church. And there was the First Letter to Timothy which stated, “The love of money is a root of all kinds of evil.”
What we need is a middle path between wealth and poverty, between complacency and desperation. This is the Goldilocks zone in which faith and human life can flourish. This was, after all, why Jesus asked that we pray for our daily bread, enough to survive, but not so much as to become bloated and fat. So, as we continue on our Lenten journey, make sure your fasts and your ongoing lives of faith are in the Goldilocks Zone.
Prayer – Lord, give me the strength to say no to what I do not need and the grace to find what I do. Amen.
Comments