Psalm 49: are you obsessed with wealth?
This psalm introduces two themes, one of which is already well known to most people. It is this: “… when he dies, he will take nothing with him, his wealth will not go down with him.” (verse 17) The second, stated in both verses 12 and 20, is this: “In prosperity people lose their good sense, they become no better than animals.” I’d like to focus on this second theme.
While it is meant to hurt, there is truth to it. When we’re doing great, and money’s coming in regularly, we stop asking the who, what, where and how. We start making plans on how to live “in ever greater splendour”, and we start apportioning our future funds for such purchases. The issue of whether or not that money will be there becomes foreign to us. ‘Why shouldn’t it? It’s always been there’, we think. We get so used to our way of life, in time some of us get to the point where we’ll do anything to keep it. We’ll cross others, fight them, push and shove, just to keep or improve the lifestyle we love so much. Have you ever seen a pack of wolves divide the prey? If you did, you know there’s a certain hierarchy there. We too, find our own place in the human hierarchy, kiss the butts of the higher-ups, flatter, charm, and do what it takes to get our share of the booty. Woe to those below us - we’re first - right?
Is that the way God intends it? Is it His purpose for us to make wealth acquisition an end-all, be-all target? Is it His goal for us that we treat each other like animals in our quest for the gold? I think we all know the answer to these questions is a resounding ‘No’. Yet we forget so easily about God when things are going well. It takes a dry spell, a time of trouble, to get us questioning ourselves and evaluating our state and/or status. It is then, with the impending threat of doom or financial collapse, that we turn to God. I have to wonder, is that motivation truthful? Would we have turned to God if things hadn’t gone bad?
So what can we do? I think it’s important to remember the two themes presented in this psalm. We can’t take it with us, and our mind gets clouded when we’re doing well. We need to pinch ourselves every day (figuratively speaking) and realize wealth is not the goal; it’s simply an enabler. With more wealth comes the added responsibility (and it is a heavy yoke) of using it wisely and helping others. Instead of letting ourselves get lulled into a false state of security about things, we should be on our best behavior, and remember God’s purpose for our lives. Narrow is the path to salvation, and it gets harder to tread when one is weighed down with many possessions.
