溫故知新 Old wisdom, today’s insight — ONGO
What Did the Prayer for Neither Poverty Nor Riches, Only Enough, Already Know?
If too little shrinks the heart and too much swells it with pride, what should a person actually pray for?
Give me neither poverty nor riches; feed me only with the bread that is my portion.
Agur's prayer, wary of both extremes, occupies a unique place in Hebrew wisdom literature. Unlike other Proverbs that urge diligence toward wealth, this prayer erases wealth itself as a goal. It bears a striking resemblance to the Greek concept of the mean, particularly Aristotle's principle of "the middle between excess and deficiency," leading later theologians to conclude that the two traditions arrived independently at the same wisdom. This wisdom of avoiding both extremes and seeking the middle has been discovered again and again, across cultures.
In an age where abundance and lack pull further apart, this prayer — asking for neither, only what is enough — sounds all the more radical.
Agur asked neither for riches nor for poverty.
📝I, Too, Stand Before It
Agur asked neither for riches nor for poverty. Instead, he asked only for exactly the food that was his portion. His reason is clear: too full, and he feared he might forget God and speak falsely; too poor, and he feared he might steal and disgrace God's name. I see in this prayer an honest insight — that both extremes are equally dangerous. Both lack and excess shake a person. I too weigh today what "just enough" actually means for me.
✍️Your Answer
The lineage of the ancients ends here. Now it is your turn before the question. There is no right answer — only how you, today, would answer.
🔒 This answer is stored only on your device. It is never sent to a server.
This is not a museum of answers but a lineage of questions. All sources are public-domain texts; the lineage and reflection are 100% original ONGO content.
