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 Lord.
Proverbs 30:8
Money is a blessing but a great temptation for us at the same time.This truth was revealed to the author of the proverbs. Above prayer was the answer. We know the impacts of money-shortage and poverty. You then start to lie a little bit to get more. You take away illegally stuff which you need. Of couse, we as Christians are challenged by that in the same way as all other people, but blessed is the man who is firmly rooted in the Lord and can withstand all trials!
Richness can really be a temptation. It easily can make us proud. There was for instance a building contractor who earned much money with great ambition. God warned him:  All riches are a gift of Him and belong to Him. God will take away the money if he continues to disregard His warnings and instead despises people who have less. And, indeed, 2 months later he hardly managed to avert a bankruptcy. God will not allow to be mocked. Since that time the building contractor supported construction projects for the benefit of others. God expects a great deal from a man to whom He has entrusted much! So the money belongs to Him and has rather to be invested for others for His kingdom. Let us deposit all on His bank! If we are in need He will stand at our side, give us the necessary.
Abraham was very, very rich. The richness was not a temptation for him. God gave and took away, Hiob was able to accept that without any problem. So finally God could give him even the double.
Then there was the very rich young man who asked Jesus how he could get eternal life. And Jesus replied: Sell everything, give to the poor and follow me. Jesus had realized that the heart of the young man was bound too much on the money. He had to give it away in order to be free to love God.
In the parable with the rich man who went abroad and confided his money to his servants to work with it he later rewarded them with more than the double. So it is, when God entrusts us something, as money for instance, and we deal with it with responsibility, then He can entrust us with bigger tasks.
Always be satisfied with that what you have, what you really need and be generous! Do not keep your money but let it work for God!
Thank you, Jesus, that You provide me with everything I need. Yes, You care for me. You will help me to reflect your character to be generous and merciful. I belong to You with all I am, with all I have.
Bible reading today – Psalm 19: 1-15