Psalm 49:13-20
English Standard Version (ESV)
13 This
is the path of those who have (A)foolish confidence;
yet after them people approve of their boasts.[a] Selah
14 Like sheep they are appointed for Sheol;
death shall be their shepherd,
and the upright (B)shall rule over them in the morning.
(C)Their form shall be consumed (D)in Sheol, with no place to dwell.
15 But God will (E)ransom my soul from the power of Sheol,
for he will (F)receive me. Selah
yet after them people approve of their boasts.[a] Selah
14 Like sheep they are appointed for Sheol;
death shall be their shepherd,
and the upright (B)shall rule over them in the morning.
(C)Their form shall be consumed (D)in Sheol, with no place to dwell.
15 But God will (E)ransom my soul from the power of Sheol,
for he will (F)receive me. Selah
16 Be not afraid when a man becomes rich,
when the glory of his house increases.
17 (G)For when he dies he will (H)carry nothing away;
his glory will not go down after him.
18 For though, while he lives, he counts himself(I)blessed
—and though you get praise when you do well for yourself—
19 his soul will (J)go to the generation of his fathers,
who will never again (K)see light.
20 (L)Man in his pomp yet without understanding is like the beasts that perish.
when the glory of his house increases.
17 (G)For when he dies he will (H)carry nothing away;
his glory will not go down after him.
18 For though, while he lives, he counts himself(I)blessed
—and though you get praise when you do well for yourself—
19 his soul will (J)go to the generation of his fathers,
who will never again (K)see light.
20 (L)Man in his pomp yet without understanding is like the beasts that perish.
How do we measure success? Many people measure success by the amount of
money in their savings account, in the size of their house, or by the car they
drive. I have seen people who are living
at the poverty level, collecting food stamps yet driving nice cars while living
in a little shack. Why, when it is
difficult to put food on the table, do people have large screen TVs and fancy
cars in their drive? It is partially the
way they measure success. We are always
trying to keep up with the neighbors next door.
We don’t mind them seeing the outside but rarely do we let them see our
inside of our lives.
How does the Bible measure
success? The Bible measures success
through the understanding what this world is all about by understanding who our
God is. It also measures success by our
uprightness. A rich person may get rich
because they undercut someone but a successful person in the sight of God is an
honest man.
Next time you see a rich person
or the house he lives in and want to live in his shoes, remember his
future. It is only but a time that we
are on this earth but we will reign forever in the house of the Lord. I am sure
there are rich people whom I believe will be in Heaven and there are poor
people who will not be in Heaven. Do not
be deceived by the success of this world as the future of the successful man by
the world’s standard, may be bleak. An
upright, understanding man, is one who believes the Word of God is true, who
understands their future is not on this earth, and lives an upright life. A believer in the Lord Jesus Christ, who
seeks God with all their heart is the one who truly has a bright future ahead!
Seeking His with all my heart,
Sheila
No comments:
Post a Comment