Faith in Riches

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Psalm 49:1-19  The Message

A Psalm of the Sons of Korah

49 ^1-2 Listen, everyone, listen—
    earth-dwellers, don’t miss this.
All you haves
    and have-nots,
All together now: listen.

^3-4 I set plainspoken wisdom before you,
    my heart-seasoned understandings of life.
I fine-tuned my ear to the sayings of the wise,
    I solve life’s riddle with the help of a harp.

^5-6 So why should I fear in bad times,
    hemmed in by enemy malice,
Shoved around by bullies,
    demeaned by the arrogant rich?

^7-9 Really! There’s no such thing as self-rescue,
    pulling yourself up by your bootstraps.
The cost of rescue is beyond our means,
    and even then it doesn’t guarantee
Life forever, or insurance
    against the Black Hole.

^10-11 Anyone can see that the brightest and best die,
    wiped out right along with fools and dunces.
They leave all their prowess behind,
    move into their new home, The Coffin,
The cemetery their permanent address.
    And to think they named counties after themselves!

¹² We aren’t immortal. We don’t last long.
    Like our dogs, we age and weaken. And die.

^13-15 This is what happens to those who live for the moment,
    who only look out for themselves:
Death herds them like sheep straight to hell;
    they disappear down the gullet of the grave;
They waste away to nothing—
    nothing left but a marker in a cemetery.
But me? God snatches me from the clutch of death,
    he reaches down and grabs me.

^16-19 So don’t be impressed with those who get rich
    and pile up fame and fortune.
They can’t take it with them;
    fame and fortune all get left behind.
Just when they think they’ve arrived
    and folks praise them because they’ve made good,
They enter the family burial plot
    where they’ll never see sunshine again.

For Reflection

Only in our memories the good times prevail.  Sometimes we forget the bad times which were intertwined with the good times.  For many, God is ignored when the going is good.  We tend to think that the good times are all a result of what we have done, not what God has provided.

But, when the going gets tough and self-determination does not work, God is the first to be called upon.  "Save us!" we cry.  Can we trust God only when we are at the end or our rope?  Do we turn to God only after the false prophets of hope have led us down destructive paths? 

If God is in us, how can we be fearful?  If God is in us, how can we be led by the selfish bullies?  If God is in us, how can we be duped into false hope?  If God is in us we will be strengthened by our unreasonable trust in God's promise of all things good.

Pray

for the confidence in God which will lead to unreasonable, irrational trust.  Pray and listen for God who resides in you.