…give me neither poverty nor riches… – Proverbs 30:8, KJV

There are few weapons in Satan’s arsenal more effective at derailing Christians than the deceitfulness of riches.  When overflowing with abundance, it is easy to stop depending on God for our daily bread and for our daily breath.  When we stop depending on God, we stop listening to Him.

To illustrate this truth, consider the typical lottery winner.  Before winning the lottery, he depended on his job for his daily bread. As a result, he listened to and obeyed his employer.  He knew that if he didn’t, he would be fired and unable to provide for himself and for his loved ones.  As soon as he wins the lottery, the typical lottery winner immediately quits his job.  Since he no longer needs what his employer provided, he stops taking orders from his employer and starts doing things on his own.

It is the same with all too many Christians, and that is just what Satan wants.  Overflowing with abundance, many Christians obey God only at their convenience because they do not feel the need to do so otherwise.  God’s inconvenient commands – the ones that require self-denial or personal discomfort – go unfulfilled.

Is wealth inherently evil?  Of course not!  The Bible clearly states that God is the source of wealth, and nothing God provides is evil.  But Satan can mold any good thing of God into a snare, and when he successfully uses wealth to take our eyes off of wealth’s Source, then Satan has gained a victory.

The author of Proverbs 30:8-9 (KJV) wrote:

8 Remove far from me vanity and lies: give me neither poverty nor riches; feed me with food convenient for me.

9 Lest I be full, and deny thee, and say, Who is the Lord? or lest I be poor, and steal, and take the name of my God in vain.

God knows how much wealth is too much for us to handle.  He knows the breakpoint at which our dependence on Him will give way to our dependence on self.  We need to trust God to give us no more than we ought to have, and may God answer the prayer of Proverbs 30:8-9 for us all.