FOR GOD'S GLORY

Psalm 49:1-3          

Hear this, all peoples; give ear, all inhabitants of the world, both low and high, rich and poor together. My mouth shall speak wisdom, and the meditation of my heart shall give understanding. Psalm 49:1-3, NKJV

Wisdom is something that can truly dictate the heart of one's life and actions. If one chooses to incline their heart toward things that are of more value and meaning, rather than material things that are only temporary, then one can truly say that their life is purposeful.

Living a life for God and not for our own pleasures helps us view life's good and bad through a more eternal perspective. What that means is we set our sight on knowing that one day we will be spending eternity with God and that all that we accomplished in this life that was not for God's glory will be meaningless and pass away.

Our hope ought to be set on looking forward to the day when we can leave all of this behind and spend our lives loving and worshiping God. Echoing the wisdom found in God's statutes, the psalmist highlights the fact that those who seek their identity in money or worldly things all have the same fate as the poor and even animals. The psalmist also says that no amount of money can ransom a life from the Lord.

We will never be able to escape the fate and the will of the Lord, no matter how much power and clout one gains here on the earth. We are all still mortals, and we will all one day meet our Maker. May we be always trying to live a life that will build up the kingdom of God and not the kingdom of self. We should not be impressed with the riches of men. When you set God's currency next to the rich man's millions, you know that only God can buy your soul from the clutches of eternal death.

This psalm produces in us a confident rejoicing in God and the certainty of the resurrection. We should also enjoy our freedom from the clutches of the idolatry of materialism. This psalm is an ideal exhortation for our modern world, where most people live in the lap of luxury. Yet it is intended for every person who has ever lived in this world, rich and poor alike. For it establishes what is really of value in this world. In a world of millions of books and billions of opinions, only the Bible gives us the truth, the nuggets of gold hidden in the dark corners of caves. These nuggets are well worth the effort of excavation. Riches won't buy you heaven, but God will!!!

Father, thank You for this day and Your amazing grace. Lord, let Your abundant blessing flow like a river over us and our family today. Lord, have mercy on us, "take our minds and think through them, take our lips and speak through them, take our hearts and set them on fire. Lord, we thank You for these Scriptures; they remind us our earthly wealth is only for this earth. It isn't eternal and we can't take it with us. Neither can we redeem our souls with our riches. Thank you, Jesus, for paying the ransom for our souls. Lord, help us to get the right perspective on life and build our lives more on things that are bring our way today.

eternal. Lord, use us to be the touch of Your love to those You.

Father, we love You. Amen.