Give me neither poverty nor riches (Proverbs 30)

Readings from Proverbs (Proverbs 30:5-9) and Luke (Luke 9:1-6) remind us how difficult it is to live in this world and also grow closer to God.



“Give me neither poverty nor riches; provide me only with the food I need” says Proverbs. How difficult it is to strike this balance in a world that measures, perhaps more than any other time in human history, success based on the ability to amass and command material goods! How easy it is for so many people to consume more than they need, whether it be food or housing or clothing or scarce resources such as fuel and water. And it is hard for most of us to recognize that this call to balance is not just for our own lives and well-being, but also so we will be aware of our impact on our natural world and our fellow creatures.


Jesus sends the disciples off on their ministry with not much more than the clothes on their back, challenging them to have faith that what they need in material items will come to them. The psalms (Psalm 119:29, 72, 89, 101, 104, 163) indicate that by following the Lord’s precepts we can gain discernment; by teaching the disciples to have a detachment from material goods, Jesus guides them to find discernment in simplicity and faith. If our focus is on “stuff” how can it also be on where God is calling us?


We have so much more today than the disciples had two thousand years ago. Our creature comforts, for the vast majority of society, would be unimaginable to a contemporary of Jesus. In many cases they have become “necessities.” Cable television, dishwashers, microwaves, computers, cell phones and so on all are so engrained in our lives that we cannot imagine doing without. So are we challenged to give up these items? We live in this world, not the ancient one, and so we need to measure our “needs” in different terms. But we can have an attitude of detachment. We can recognize that material items are not ends in themselves. We can place our drive for success in perspective. We can strive to live simpler lives. We can let go of our things, not embrace them. We can try to do without, or use less, not more.


Hard? Of course it is! But this simplicity, this balance, is what the scriptures call us to.

Saint Vincent De Paul, whose feast day we celebrate on Wednesday, said: "Strive to live content in the midst of those things that cause your discontent. Free your mind from all that troubles you, God will take care of things. You will be unable to make haste in this [choice] without, so to speak, grieving the heart of God, because he sees that you do not honor him sufficiently with holy trust. Trust in him, I beg you, and you will have the fulfillment of what your heart desires" (St. Vincent de Paul, Letters).