Wishes

DAILY READING

Psalm 77

Proverbs 30:1-9

FIELD NOTES

Do you remember fairy tales in which the main character would be granted “three wishes” by a genie and she would agonize over which wishes she should choose? It makes us think, if we had three wishes, what would WE choose? The wealth of Bill Gates? The physical strength of Olympic athletes? The brilliant mind of Einstein?

In our reading today, the writer asks for “two things” from God which might surprise you. Verses 7-8 say, “Two things I ask of you; do not deny them to me before I die: remove far from me falsehood and lying; give me neither poverty or riches; feed me with the food that I need.” 

The writer asks God for truth and honesty and he asks that he be given only what he needs to live — not wealth and not poverty. In these requests he uncovers the pitfalls of both wealth and poverty. If we have too much, we may come to believe that we don’t need God — we can handle our lives on our own. If we have too little, we may be tempted to lie or steal in order to get our needs met. Either way we leave God out of the equation.

We may not be granted “three wishes” by a magical genie in a fairy tale, but we can ask God to give us just what we need, so that we always remember that he is our provider. 

QUESTIONS FOR THE FIELD

• If you could ask God to grant “three wishes” what would they be?
• What does having “just enough” mean to you? 

FAMILY FIELD TALK

• Pretend you are a character in a fairy tale and a genie offers to grant you “three wishes.” What would they be?

PRAYER GUIDE

Father God, we are tempted by the lure of wealth and we fear the struggle of poverty. Help us to remember that you are our loving parent and we can trust you to provide what we need. We ask for the grace to be happy with “just enough” — to want what we have and be grateful for our blessings and not envy the blessings of others.