If I Had Two Wishes
Proverbs 30:5-9
By Alan Walker
Introduction
From Aladdin's lamp to Barbara Eden in "I dream of Jeannie," we are familiar with the "genie" in the bottle who, when discovered, will grant a number of wishes. "Shaq" will be portraying a grumpy genie in an upcoming flick.
It's only make-believe, yet fascinating. Fascinating, because many of us, have wondered what we might wish for if we were granted 3 wishes....
Joe: "Have you seen any of your childhood dreams come true?" Jack: "Sure have. When my mother used to comb my hair I used to wish I didn't have any."
Maggie: "If you could have two wishes, what would they be?" Marianne: "Well, I think I'd wish for a husband." Maggie: "That's only one wish. What is your other one?" Marianne: "I would have to save the other until I saw how he turned out."
In Proverbs 30 we meet named Agur. The author of chapter 30.
Through an interesting translation of the words in verse one, some have concluded Solomon to be the author of this chapter...although, I don't imagine it's true. Frankly, it doesn't matter, because God is the real author, isn't He?
Agur, asks the Lord for two very important "wishes".
Of course they are not the only requests in the Scriptures, nor are they even the most important ones.... (probably were to Agur)
Jesus asked for unity among His followers - that we might be one.
Solomon, as He becomes King of Israel asks for wisdom to govern the people of God. The requests or wished of Agur are worth our consideration because...
There's no genie in a bottle. No Barbara Eden or Shaq. But, there is a God... Who hears.. Who knows... Who wants us to ask... And who is willing to answer...
As we consider these verses, they are of themselves incredibly wise requests. Yet, there's more here. These requests are more than about honesty and honor....let me put it this way...
Maintaining a positive relationship with the Father requires both the awareness and the removal of attitudes that cloud the relationship! "Two things I ask of Thee...."
Agur, shares what I believe to be two potential area's of weakness in his life, that he does not want to fall into...
"Do not refuse me before I die..."
A Hebrew way of saying, "As long as I live..."
One author suggests this is not a cry for help due to an immediate crisis, but for a never ending problem.
What does Agur ask the Lord for? Riches? Fame? Members of the opposite sex? Let's find out...
1. An Honest Relationship (8a)
"Keep deception & lies far from me..."
"First, help me never to tell a lie." (TLB)
There is seldom success in relationships built on the shifting sands of deception.
The Hebrew is rather graphic. Literally emptiness. Worthless behavior or speech!
Emptiness because it goes to the heart of who we are. It goes to character, integrity, whether or not we are a person of our word.
An easy habit to develop. Doesn't take much effort. It takes more effort to tell the truth, especially, when the truth is not very comfortable.
"Did you say....?" No, not me.
"Did you take the last....?" No, not me.
"Is the car okay...?" Sure it is.....
"Did you shoot that deer yourself?" You bet!
It's something we do at home, with our spouse, to our children, to our parents, at school, at work, in the neighborhood, with friends, the preacher, elders, with strangers, even to ourselves. Lying, is almost an addiction with some....
A father was scolding his young son for telling lies. "I never told lies when I was your age," he said. Replied the young son, "How old were you when you started?"
A man dressed in hunting clothes walked into the roadside cafe and boasted loudly to the men sitting around the tables: "I've just come from the upper peninsula where I bagged a dozen deer!" "Do you know who I am?" said one of the other men. "No." "Well, I'm the game warden of this state, and you are under arrest for violating the law." "Do you know who I am?" "I haven't the faintest idea." "Why, I'm the biggest liar in Ohio!"
A minister received a call from the Internal Revenue Service asking about a member of his church. "He stated on his income tax return," said the official, "that he gave three thousand dollars last year to your church. Is that correct?" "I don't have the records here, and I would have to check on it. But I'll say this--if he didn't, he will."
Some say, Lying really doesn't hurt anyone....(not true)
I believe it hurts the home! It hurts the kids, it destroys trust in the marriage. It is one of the few things that can damage long term friendships. And it's does hurt our relationship with the Lord...(that's crucial).
Consider the following... Proverbs 6:19 Proverbs 19:5, 9,22
Eternal Consequences - Revelation 21:8
Agur prays He will not become a man of deception or a liar.
I hope you're an honest person! Honest in your business dealings Honest with your spouse Honest with your kids Honest with yourself Honest with the Church Honest with God!
Lies are so easy to tell So hard to live, And so damaging to our own lives.... Maybe Agur's prayer should be ours as well!
A small country church was having a "baptizing" in a river on a cold January day. A revival meeting had just concluded. The preacher asked one baptismal candidate, "Is the water cold?" "Naw!" he replied. One of the deacons shouted: "Dip him ag'in preacher, he's still lyin'!"
Maintaining a positive relationship with the Father requires both the awareness and the removal of attitudes that cloud the relationship! But that's only one wish, there's another...
2. An Honoring Relationship
This is something we all desire! No one wants to dishonor or "profane" the name of God Yet, would Agur's wish be ours?
Maybe we could go with half of it...
"Don't give me poverty..."
We don't want to be without a home or a meal. We don't want to push our belongings in a shopping cart? We don't want to be without our Visa or Mastercard or American Express! Please Lord, not this...
Agur's prayer is legitimate. Poverty meant you had nothing at all. No place to live, no Social Security, welfare, S.S.I., Voc Rehab, Food Stamps. Reduced to begging. Most likely a sentence to an early death.
Agur's fear - Lord keep poverty from me so I am not tempted to steal and as a result dishonor the name of my God...
Note This:
Poverty does not dishonor God - A lot of poor people! What we might do when broke may dishonor God - Stealing does dishonor the name of our God! What about the other half?
"Don't make me rich..."
This is a joke, right? Who in their right mind would ask something like this of God?
It goes against the dreams the proverbial Genie in a bottle- The three wish syndrome.
If we had some wishes - one would be wealth? Not Agur?
We want to live the American dream, which is re-defined every decade.
Wealth isn't really the problem... There's nothing wrong with being wealthy... God doesn't hate the rich... Wealth does not dishonor God at all... However, our attitude about wealth might! It concerned Agur...
"Lest I be full and deny Thee, and say, "Who is the Lord?"
Agur cannot imagine dishonoring God, asking, "Who is the Lord?". But, I think he's on to something. If it were to happen, it would be unlikely in our poverty or in our pain. It would not occur in our loneliness or in our valleys.
It would happen in our fullness. Agur, realizing perhaps a weakness in all of us or simply in himself, asks the Lord God to not allow him to rich, but simply for "the food that is my portion."
Bill Curry of the south Boston worked most of his life as a cafeteria cook for the Merit Food Company -- modest income but he managed to provide for his wife and his son and his daughter. So when Bill Curry won the state lottery, 3.6 million dollars, his first thought was just to buy a Dalmatian puppy for the youngsters. That was the extent of the celebration. But then the parasites converged -- the lawyers and the investment advisers, the accountants and the financial analysts -- he was overwhelmed by them. And by people wanting handouts for all manner of charities. He returned to his job in the cafeteria, but even there financial advisers were everywhere. His nearest relative says there's no doubt about it, in the weeks since he won the lottery, it was not the money that caused his stress but it was all of those people who wanted to deal themselves in. Bill Curry has died of a heart attack at 37.
Our dream should be different... A dream of being close to God, Knowing Him, Loving Him, Understanding Him Growing in Him, Living eternally with Him...
And tossing aside anything that gets in the way...
Maintaining a positive relationship with the Father requires both the awareness and the removal of attitudes that cloud the relationship!
Paul said it another way.... Philippians 3:8
Yes, everything else is worthless when compared with the priceless gain of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. I have put aside all else, counting it worth less than nothing, in order that I can have Christ, (TLB)
3. Personal Application
While Agur refers in this prayer to deception and lies, wealth and poverty, this is a passage about being aware of and avoiding circumstances and behavioral attitudes that might come between God and me.
Dishonesty can do that! Poverty can do this! Wealth can do this.
This is not, a list of things that come between you and God, but an awareness that things can come between you and God, harming, our relationship.
Two or three quick thoughts...
#1. Although, I am capable of dishonoring God, I never want to be guilty.
I want my life to honor God for all He has done for me.
#2. I realize I am capable of developing a wonderful relationship with God...
The truth is I must want to have this relationship so much that I am willing to do what is necessary to achieve it, develop it, and ultimately, enjoy it!
What do you struggle with? What would cloud or is clouding your relationship with God? Perhaps even, borderline, dishonoring the Lord? What needs to happen? When will you allow it to change? What will happen if you don't Who can you help, if you're doing okay?
There are no genies in a bottle But there is a glorious God We can enjoy walking with, now and forever!
Alan Walker is editor of The Preacher's Corner and Minister of Evangelism at the Mt. Vernon Church of Christ in Springfield, OR. He may be reached at adwalker@pond.net.