Daily text, Give me neither poverty nor riches.—Prov. 30:8.

[Queen Esther]

16 You open your hand...  And satisfy the desire of every living thing.

Give me neither poverty nor riches.—Prov. 30:8.

Jehovah does not want his servants to live in abject poverty, and migration is one of the oldest remedies for poverty. (Ps. 37:25) To avoid starvation, the patriarch Jacob sent his sons to Egypt to buy food. (Gen. 42:1, 2) Today, most who choose to emigrate do not leave their homes because they are starving. They may, however, be laboring under crushing debt. Others simply desire to raise their family’s standard of living. In Jesus’ day, many people were likewise poor and disadvantaged, and they may have felt that they would be happier and more secure if only they had more money. (Mark 14:7) But Jesus wanted people to place their hope elsewhere. He wanted them to rely on the Source of lasting riches—Jehovah. In Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount, he explained that real happiness and security do not depend on material things, nor on our own efforts, but on our friendship with our heavenly Father. w14 4/15 3:4, 5