My dog turned 9 years old earlier last month. It is likely he only has at most a few more years to live. That is to be expected. Dogs make it 12-15 years and die. It is sad. It will be sad. But many people get past the sadness, and they get a new dog. People get new pets many times over throughout their lives. Is it possible that we humans sometimes view animals, even pets, as disposable?
We don’t think of humans like that, though. We see a higher dignity and worth in human life. Or do we?
We have been studying the wisdom psalm, Psalm 49, this first of the new year, and the psalmist makes a shocking claim about humans and animals in verses 12-14:
“People, despite their wealth, do not endure; they are like the beasts that perish. This is the fate of those who trust in themselves, and of their followers, who approve their sayings. They are like sheep and are destined to die; death will be their shepherd (but the upright will prevail over them in the morning). Their forms will decay in the grave, far from their princely mansions.”
The psalmist says humans are like beasts who perish! Why does he say that? His point is that no matter how much money you have, it cannot help you avoid death. This is an undisputed fact of life. It is so obvious, we could, at this point in the psalm, say, “Okay, psalmist, we get it. You’re not telling us anything new. Where are you going with this?”
He is actually going somewhere with this. In verse 12 he hinted it at it when he said, “This is the fate of those who trust in themselves.” This is a parallel to verse 6, where he said, the wicked deceivers trust in their wealth.
What is at the heart of this proverb is a faulty placement of trust. It doesn’t matter if we trust in ourselves or in our ability to generate wealth to try to preserve our lives, or make a name for ourselves. The reality that we will all die reveals that humans can succumb to a faulty placement of trust.
It is faulty, unwise, lacking in understanding, to trust in ourselves. It is unwise to trust in our wealth. So what should we trust in?
Look at what he says next in verses 15, “But God will redeem me from the realm of the dead; he will surely take me to himself.”
If we want to live with wisdom, with understanding, the psalmist says that we will focus our lives on God who is our redeemer. Our heart, our mind, our decisions will lean towards him, not toward the deceptive ways of trusting in wealth and the things of this world.
Here we have a distinct contrast with verse 7. There the psalmist said that no human, no matter how rich, can redeem the life of another human. Now in verse 15, he points out that God, however, can redeem us.
Our trust, therefore, should not be in the accumulation of wealth, and the insurance or assurance it will provide for us. Our trust should be in God, in giving our lives to him for the purpose of his mission. When I say “our trust should be in God,” I am not saying simply, “believe in him.” I am saying, “we show that we believe in him by giving our lives to serve him.”
I am also not saying that the only kind of serving him is in full-time ministry. Not at all. The vast majority of Christians need not become full-time professional pastors or missionaries. Instead most Christians will serve God is many other ways both inside and outside the church.
Most Christians, for example, will work in a variety of non-ministry career fields. Work has dignity. As long it is ethical, work as unto the Lord. Work ethically, work with gusto. But do not work so as to trust in the money. Trust in God.
Engaging Scripture 