By Jane Cho, InterHigh Mentor, Senior @ UC Berkeley

If you’re like me when I was a teen, you have dreams of hang-gliding in the Grand Canyon or becoming a successful lawyer/musician/whatever. You probably have a list of things you really want to accomplish before you “kick the bucket” and die. But when my pastor pointed out how self-focused a lot of these bucket lists are, especially when this dying world needs salvation, I realized that my ultimate wish list was really selfish.  

In the video below, Francis Chan, pastor of Cornerstone Church, challenges Christians in America to pray the prayer of Agur in Proverbs 30:7-9:

⁷ “Two things I ask of you, O LORD;
do not refuse me before I die:

⁸ Keep falsehood and lies far from me;
give me neither poverty nor riches,
but give me only my daily bread.

⁹ Otherwise, I may have too much and disown you
and say, ‘Who is the LORD?’
Or I may become poor and steal,
and so dishonor the name of my God.

This prayer was like an ancient Hebrew bucket list! But instead of self-indulgent entertainment or a successful career, Agur was asking God for truth in his life and only his basic necessities, lest he dishonor God. I committed to making this noble bucket list my own: to desire no deception in my words and actions and to live with “just enough” to get by, for the sake of depending on God.

To “keep falsehood and lies far from me,” I have had to examine how I put up a lot of masks in front of people and pretend to be someone I’m not. This deception includes how I avoid admitting my sin, easily blame and criticize others, and consequently think I’m a pretty good person. Though these were deeply ingrained habits, as I prayed for this earnestly and meditated on the Bible, God has helped me to recognize my falsehood more readily and to turn from it by confessing to other Christians and taking responsibility for my sins. Through this practice, I have been able to experience forgiveness and peace from God.

To receive “neither poverty nor riches, but…only my daily bread,” I have had to take two stances. First, to avoid the poverty that would make me cut corners, steal, and dishonor God, I realized that I would have to work diligently in school and eventually at a job. I began to see the value of paying attention in class, doing my homework, and getting help when needed. I basically began to take my work and myself more seriously.

Second, to avoid the riches that would make me forget God, I realized that I would have to live with “just enough.” Although I still receive more than enough from my parents and friends, this principle means that I try to donate away what I don’t need in my wardrobe and I don’t buy more, unless absolutely necessary. It means that I stop thinking about how to accessorize and entertain myself and instead think about how to help out around the house, encourage my friends, and provide for the poor.

For example, I sold my iPod speaker set, which my dad had bought me before college, and donated the money to World Impact, an urban ministry to the poor in Oakland. It was hard to give up at first, but afterwards I was surprised at how much I didn’t miss it; instead, I was so grateful to be able to help others. Even in small ways, like using cheaper soaps instead of insisting on brand-name face wash, shampoo, conditioner, and body wash, my life has become more simple and I have become more content.

Also, I thought about how receiving “only my daily bread” also literally applies to how I should stop gorging on and indulging myself through food and just be content with a moderate amount of healthy food. Moderating my meals taught me self-control and made me less dependent on food for my happiness. In the process of de-luxurizing my life, I have sincerely become a happier person, less attached to material goods, less insecure about how I look, and more willing to stand apart from the norms of the world.

As I look back on my old bucket list, I praise God for sparing me from goals that definitely would not fulfill me and would probably instead bring regrets for pursuing my own desires at the expense of loving this world. At the end of my life, I want to say that I clung to the truth and depended on God for my needs and that, in turn, He provided a joyful and meaningful life beyond imagination! If you find yourself craving some exciting, worldly goal in your lifetime, I challenge you to join me in sincerely praying the prayer above as a biblical bucket list to last our lifetimes.