Daily Lesson for July 23, 2014

Today's Lesson is from Psalm 49 verses 6 through 9 and 17 through 20:

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 rthe ransom of their life is costly
and can never suffice,
9 that he should live on forever
and never see the pit.
17 For when he dies he will carry nothing away;
his glory will not go down after him.
18 For though, while he lives, he counts himself blessed
—and though you get praise when you do well for yourself—
19 his soul will go to the generation of his fathers,
who will never again see light.
20 Man in his pomp yet without understanding is like the beasts that perish.

In his funeral oration for King Louis XIV of France, in he presence of some of the world's richest and most powerful, Jean Baptiste Masillon famously began his sermon with these straightforward words which put all of the pomp of so grand an occasion in perspective: "Dieu seul est grand. (Only God is great.)

I have over my years as a pastor been blessed to know many very wealthy people who keep things in perspective.  They know that things could have turned out otherwise.  they know what the writer of Ecclesiastes says is true:

"The race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, nor riches to men of understanding; but time and chance happen to them all."

Those who are rich in things and also rich in soul know keep it all in perspective. They know their riches are a blessing to be used generously for the good of their families and also others.  They know they have been blessed to be a blessing.  And in the end they know that their wealth can never purchase the pearl of great price - which is what Jesus called the kingdom of heaven.  Entry there can never be bought, but must instead be humbly received.  

In that sense, whether rich or poor, in the end we're all beggars because only God is great.