For the Love of Puppies
Some people think that money is the solution to every problem so much that they place it over everything else, but what exactly comes with having riches? Does possessing a fortune give you control over life, death, sickness, disease, accidents, tragedies, traumas, betrayals, natural or unnatural disasters? Money opens a lot of doors, but it is not everything.
“If you could have anything in the world, what would it be?” “A baked potato,” said the billionaire; the congregation listened intently to the pastor's intriguing story, curious why a billionaire, who had more money than he could ever spend, would wish for a simple baked potato. It turns out that the billionaire was stricken with an illness, fed through a tube, unable to eat. The best doctors and specialists attended to him, but nothing could be done. That puts things into perspective. Money is essential, but much less if it cannot give you what you need.
Agur is a little-known character in scripture, you will probably never hear a sermon based upon him. His lack of popularity may be due to a petition he made to the LORD, “Give me just what I need. I don’t want to be too rich or too poor. If I have too much, I might forget about You, if I don’t have enough, I might steal and disgrace Your name” (Proverbs 30:8-9). What a humble thing to ask. It is not necessarily in line with the values of contemporary society, but his request is evidence that Agur had humility and self-awareness. Maybe he wanted to avoid the trap of self-sufficiency he had seen others fall into; whatever the case, he decided to trust God over everything, even himself.
People often misquote scripture by describing money as the root of all evil. Money is not evil; money is paper that has been assigned a value. In fact, if we switched out green paper for puppies, assigned a value to black and white Pomeranians, and started trading barking beauties for goods and services, that still would not make puppies evil. The love of puppies, or money, is the root of all evil (1 Tm. 6:10). The love of anything above God is evil; money happens to be the thing man idolizes slightly above other false gods. When a man has it all: tons of money and endless sources of puppies, he is likely to think less about God. It takes a really special, Christ-centered person to have a lot and still be fully committed and dependent upon the LORD.
For six days a week, God provided the Children of Israel with bread and meat from heaven. Moses instructed them to take what they needed for their families and nothing more or less. He warned the Israelites against storing food for the next day, and those who disobeyed woke to find rotten, worm-infested food. Only right before the Sabbath were the people permitted to gather two days’ worth of food (Ex. 16). In Egypt, they had been accustomed to eating all they wanted, but in the desert, God gave them only enough for the present-day so they would look to Him. Food from heaven and a lesson in trust, just what they needed.
We could learn a thing or two from the Manna from Heaven lesson, God gives us just enough. We could also learn something from Agur. Agur was inadequate, and he knew it. He was sober-minded and aware that he was not enough. Whether rich with money or puppies, he knew God was the only One who could provide him with enough of what He needed, so he turned everything over to God. Psalm 119:105 says, “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.” In ancient days, the only lights were small oil lamps that emitted just enough light for a person to see their very next step. God's Word is like a lamp, enabling us to see just enough of what is ahead while having to maintain faith.
Having an abundance of money, things, and puppies can only get you so far. God is our only true source. He is our shepherd, we shall not want (Psalm 23). Let us learn to lean and depend on Him and He will give us just what we need.
