Psalm 49

Bible Passage:  Psalm 49

“A man who is in honour, yet does not understand,

Is like the beasts that perish.”

~ Psalm 49:20

A man in honour is someone who has done well for himself and is recognised for it. But the Bible tells us that although he lives in glory and wealth, he is foolish and does not understand, and his end is death. What does he not understand? What should we seek to understand today, so that we do not share the same sad fate as the beautiful and rich but senseless man?

We have read, and we know that money cannot buy us life. The dead leaves this world with nothing (Ps 49:17).  When our flesh decays, we return to earth as dust. No one can escape death by giving up his money – not the rich, neither the foolish nor the wise (Ps 49:10). Yet we horde our possessions, become jealous when we hear of our peers earning more, living in bigger houses and doing better than us.

We who are ‘in honour’ are respectful toward the others who are ‘in honour’, and like associating ourselves with them, but we who are ‘in honour’ are ungenerous toward the lowly and poor. Yet God measures honour in a very different way from us. An honourable man in God’s eyes is upright (Ps 49:14). And God will redeem his soul from death, receiving him into eternal life.

Is it not better for us to learn from our honest, wise and upright brethren, to strive hard to understand and emulate the richness of God’s love, joy and peace in our lives, rather than waste our precious lives on jealous thoughts, transient wealth, and being one-up and better than others?

May God teach us to understand.