Thought for May 28, 2024

  •  1830: Andrew Jackson signs the Indian Removal Act beginning the Trail of Tears
  • 1892: John Muir founds the Sierra Club
  • 1923: US Attorney General opines it is lawful for women to wear pants anywhere
  • 1928: Dodge and Chrysler merge
  • 1936: Alan Turing submits for publication "On Computable Numbers" setting out the basics for modern computers
  • 1961: Amnesty International formed
  • 1972: First break-in at the Watergate
  • Born: Jim Thorpe, Ian Fleming, Jerry West, Gladys Knight, Rudy Giuliani, John Fogerty, Sondra Locke, Marco Rubio, Elisabeth Hasselbeck, Michael Oher
  • Died: Noah Webster, Phil Hartman, Gary Coleman, Maya Angelou
Thought:
Considering a passage that I have never really focused on before this morning. Read Psalm 49: 16-20 with me. 
  • Don't be concerned when the unrighteous seem to prosper. [49:16]
  • When he dies, he will not take any of his riches, his honors, his position, the praises of men with him. [49:17-19]
  • A person who lives pompously and arrogantly without understanding who he is and who God is is no better than a a beast who dies. In fact, he is worse off, because his soul will never be at rest. [49:20]
The Bible repeatedly reminds us not to envy the rich, not to love money or love the world. And yet, I often find myself wondering why certain people seem to be successful, prosperous, rich, respected, honored, praised. And if I am not careful, I find myself envying what they have, wanting the praise of people, wanting recognition and honor, or I start wishing that those people would fail, go bankrupt, lose their position and power. Either way, I have allowed comparison with others to cause discontentment in my life and the sins of envy, pride, greed, anger, hate to creep in. 

Psalm 49 reminds me that we will leave this earth the same way we entered, naked and without assets. The Egyptians filled the tombs of their Pharaoh's with riches. As a teenager, a saw a gypsy funeral where the casket was piled with clothes, shoes, money so that the deceased would have those in the next life. And in my law practice, I watched families work and strive to attain wealth, pass it to the next generation and watch it dissipate. A friend describes it as coach to first class to coach in two generations. 

The last verse is striking. The person without Christ who lives in pomp and power is no better than a beast in death. They have nothing to take with them and face eternity without hope. Believers receive instruction and wisdom from this psalm. The lost should read the psalm with fear and concern. Believers should use the truth of this passage to motivate us to tell the lost about the only thing that will matter in eternity--knowing Jesus. 

Blessings
Larry

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