Good Morning Devotion :-)❤️

Rags Versus Riches

Read Proverbs 30:1-33

5Every word of God proves true. He is a shield to all who come to him for protection. 6Do not add to his words, or he may rebuke you and expose you as a liar. 7O God, I beg two favors from you; let me have them before I die. 8First, help me never to tell a lie. Second, give me neither poverty nor riches! Give me just enough to satisfy my needs. 9For if I grow rich, I may deny you and say, “Who is the Lord?” And if I am too poor, I may steal and thus insult God’s holy name. 10Never slander a worker to the employer, or the person will curse you, and you will pay for it. 11Some people curse their father and do not thank their mother. 12They are pure in their own eyes, but they are filthy and unwashed. 13They look proudly around, casting disdainful glances. 14They have teeth like swords and fangs like knives. They devour the poor from the earth.Proverbs 30:5-14

Winning the lottery or getting some other financial windfall plays itself out in the imaginations of almost everyone. We imagine how our lives would be different, better, easier. Sure, there might be higher taxes, strained relationships, and uncontrollable spending habits, but that would be better than poverty, right?

Proverbs 30 contains some profound thoughts about riches, as well as thoughts on God’s character; false accusations; mockers; and pride.

Agur, the writer of these proverbs, prayed, “Give me neither poverty nor riches!” (Proverbs 30:8). Some people imagine that money can solve all their problems. Others believe that it will solve none of them. Both miss the point—it is the love of money that is at the root of evil (see 1 Timothy 6:10). Having too much money can give us the false impression that we don’t need God. Like the apostle Paul, we should learn to live whether we have little or plenty (see Philippians 4:12), but our lives are likely to be more effective for God if, like Agur, we have “neither poverty nor riches.”

Make Agur’s prayer your prayer. Ask God to keep you from desiring material wealth, knowing that it isn’t eternal and will one day be gone. At the same time, pray that God will strengthen your trust in him to provide for your needs.

(Source: from my friend's {@catietan} devotional materials)

Good Sunday morning my fellow sweet and grateful steemit family, friends and fellow uloggers. I hope that you all had a wonderful night. Today, I will share with you this morning devo and I hope and pray that you will all be blessed and encouraged.

I've been using this phrase or sentence in my previous testimonies because it is the truth about me and my family. I've been born in a not-to-do-well family and I was taught how to value my tatay's (father) hard-earned money. In connection to this devo, my prayer back then was for God to make us richer because all I know is that money is the only solution to our problem. But as I mature enough in my Christian life, I've learned that the best investment is eternal not material. No wonder Agur's prayer is like that. He had known the root of all evil is not the money itself but its the love of it. There's nothing wrong in accumulating material wealth, investing in properties, preparing for our children's future, their education and the like. These are legit needs and not just wants. There's nothing wrong working hard for our family's future. But if we love money more than we love God, more than we love our family then that's a different story. "Agur, the writer of these proverbs, prayed, “Give me neither poverty nor riches!” (Proverbs 30:8). Some people imagine that money can solve all their problems. Others believe that it will solve none of them. Both miss the point—it is the love of money that is at the root of evil (see 1 Timothy 6:10). Having too much money can give us the false impression that we don’t need God. Like the apostle Paul, we should learn to live whether we have little or plenty (see Philippians 4:12), but our lives are likely to be more effective for God if, like Agur, we have “neither poverty nor riches.”

We should learn to live within our means. God has taught us that idleness is a sin. So we need to work. But when the time comes that we're already earning more than what we need, let us save for our future but let's make sure that our quality time with our family and loved ones is not being compromised for the sake of accumulating more money.

Thank you so much and God bless us all.

I am @sashley a.k.a. shirleynpenalosa, a recipient of God's love, mercy and grace. ❤️

Have a blessed and rainy month of July 2018 everyone :-)❤️

I am forever grateful to God every day of my life for giving me everything that I need and praise Him all the more for not giving me everything I want. To God be all the honor, praise and glory ❤️ :-)

@surpassinggoogle is such a generous person and has a very big heart for all of us here. Please support him as a witness by voting him at https://steemit.com/~witnesses and type in "steemgigs" at the first search box.

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If you want to give him witness voting decisions on your behalf, visit https://steemit.com/~witnesses again and type in "surpassinggoogle" in the second box as a proxy.

@paradise-found is a wonderful person, a very humble and generous encourager, let us also support him by voting and typing in "gratefulvibes" at the search box

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Other good witnesses to recommend:

@yabapmatt
@teamsteem
@jerrybanfield
@hr1
@acidyo
@blocktrades
@curie
@beanz
@rcarter.witness
@reggaemuffin
@arcange

They need our support

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https://discord.gg/7bvvJG

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