Curious Christian

Proverbs 30:8 says, “Keep falsehood and lies far from me; give me neither poverty nor riches, but give me only my daily bread.” It’s such a simple request, but it cuts right to the heart of how most of us live, or rather, don’t live.

We spend so much time chasing wealth or fearing poverty, don’t we? But here, the writer is asking for something radical: just enough. Neither wealth to control his life, not poverty to make him desperate, just what he needs for today. That can be a hard prayer to pray because it forces us to admit something that’s hard to face: we don’t always trust God to provide, do we? We hedge our bets. We build storehouses, hoard resources, or daydream about excess.

And the first part? Asking for lies to be kept far away? That’s the foundation, because the lies—about who we are, what we deserve, or what will make us safe—are the root of our restlessness. If we don’t address that, even the just enough will feel like too little.

So maybe this verse isn’t just a request. It’s a challenge. Are we willing to live with enough? Are we brave enough to ask God to strip away the lies that tell us we need more? It’s not comfortable, but it might just set us free.