Psalm 49:1-12 (NRSV)
Read Psalm 49:1-12 on biblegateway.com
Verse 1Hear this, all you peoples; give ear, all inhabitants of the world,
Verse 2both low and high, rich and poor together.
Verse 3My mouth shall speak wisdom; the meditation of my heart shall be understanding.
Verse 4I will incline my ear to a proverb; I will solve my riddle to the music of the harp.
Verse 5Why should I fear in times of trouble, when the iniquity of my persecutors surrounds me,
Verse 6those who trust in their wealth and boast of the abundance of their riches?
Verse 7Truly, no ransom avails for one's life, there is no price one can give to God for it.
Verse 8For the ransom of life is costly, and can never suffice
Verse 9that one should live on forever and never see the grave.
Verse 10When we look at the wise, they die; fool and dolt perish together and leave their wealth to others.
Verse 11Their graves are their homes forever, their dwelling places to all generations, though they named lands their own.
Verse 12Mortals cannot abide in their pomp; they are like the animals that perish.
Devotion
What do the rich and poor have in common? In a world which loves to separate everybody into two camps (“There are two kinds of people in the world…”) the Psalmist reminds us that when it comes to death, there is one kind of people in the world: the kind that dies. You might get a street, a building, or a town (even, less happily, a fatal disease) named after you. However, in the end, it is a tombstone that will bear your name. The one who dies with the most toys… is dead. This is a word for Bill Gates, Warren Buffet, and you. And me, too.
The Psalm is about not being envious of those who have “more,” because in the end, we are all alike. Not a hopeful word, but true. We have to go outside our assigned text to find the word of hope: “But God will ransom my life” (verse 15).
Prayer
God of the rich and poor alike, save me from comparing myself to others and measuring my worth by my checkbook balance. You have my life in your hands, already bought and paid for. Let that be enough for me. Amen.