Aug-05-0483-Living in the light of eternity
483_Living in the light of eternity Psalm 49:1-13 Hear this, all peoples! Give ear, all inhabitants of the world, 2 both low and high, rich and poor together! 3 My mouth shall speak wisdom; the meditation of my heart shall be understanding. 4 I will incline my ear to a proverb; I will solve my riddle to the music of the lyre. 5 Why should I fear in times of trouble, when the iniquity of those who cheat me surrounds me, 6 those who trust in their wealth and boast of the abundance of their riches? 7 Truly no man can ransom another, or give to God the price of his life, 8 for the ransom of their life is costly and can never suffice, 9 that he should live on forever and never see the pit. 10 For he sees that even the wise die; the fool and the stupid alike must perish and leave their wealth to others. 11 Their graves are their homes forever, their dwelling places to all generations, though they called lands by their own names. 12 Man in his pomp will not remain; he is like the beasts that perish. 13 This is the path of those who have foolish confidence; yet after them people approve of their boasts. Selah The year was 1923. A group of the world’s most powerful and successful men gathered at the Edgewater Beach Hotel in Chicago. It included the president of America’s largest steel company, the president of the New York Stock Exchange, a member of the president’s cabinet, and the heads of the biggest oil and utility companies of the time. Collectively, they controlled more wealth than perhaps any other group on the planet. Newspapers hailed them as men who had it made—masters of industry, success, and wealth. Fast forward a few decades: one died bankrupt, another died in prison, one went insane, and the rest died lonely and broken. These men had built empires but had failed to prepare for the one thing that levels all people—death. They lived for the now, with little thought for eternity. Psalm 49 is a solemn and timeless call to everyone—rich and poor, powerful and powerless—to live with the end in view. It’s a wisdom psalm that doesn’t simply call us to morality, but to clarity. It is a piercing reminder that life is brief, death is certain, and eternity is forever. The psalmist says, “Hear this, all peoples! Give ear, all inhabitants of the world, both low and high, rich and poor together!” (vv.1–2). The desire to pursue wealth, fame, or comfort at the cost of eternal values is not just a rich man’s disease. A poor man can be just as materialistic and greedy as the wealthy. Because materialism isn’t about how much we have—it’s about what our hearts long for. In this wise psalm, the first bit of wisdom is this: Don’t be envious of the rich and powerful. Especially those who trust in their wealth and boast about their great possessions. It’s one thing to be rich—it’s another to find your identity, worth, and security in