Hear this, all peoples; Give ear, all inhabitants of the world, 2 both low and high, rich and poor together. 3 My mouth shall speak wisdom, and the meditation of my heart shall give understanding. 4 I will incline my ear to a proverb; I will disclose my dark saying on the harp. 5 Why should I fear in the days of evil, when the iniquity at my heels surrounds me? —Psalm 49:1-5 

It’s not a sin to be wealthy. Neither is it God’s desire that everyone have wealth, in the material sense. Nor is it His desire that the government seize the wealth of some and bestow “financial equality” by taking from the rich to redistribute it to the poor. It is true that the rich have a responsibility to the poor, but the forced equalization movement of our day is not the will of God. 

In the Bible, we read that God made Abraham, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, King David, Solomon, and many others very wealthy, but for others, who also loved and served Him, He did not do the same. It would appear that in God’s economy, it’s okay for some to have more than others materially. In fact, efforts to equalize the material status of everyone by some governments is a precursor to the final governmental control system of all people under the Antichrist. 

God doesn’t give us things that will harm us and cause us to perish. Although it’s true that He gives some the power to get wealthy, He also warns of the power of wealth (see Deuteronomy 8:18-19), which is the very heart of Psalm 49. The psalmist addresses the lyrics of this psalm to all people the world over, from all walks of life, the rich as well as the poor. He says that wisdom is found in a proverb and that it is a “dark saying,” a conundrum, a riddle, or a puzzle. He is speaking to all people everywhere whose lives have been impacted by abusers of power who see their riches as giving them the right to abuse others. “When the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice; but when a wicked man rules, the people groan” (Proverbs 29:2). 

Verse 5 gives us the nitty-gritty question that implies a comforting answer: “Why should I fear in the days of evil, when the iniquity at my heels surrounds me?” One answer would be that the best things in life can neither be bought nor lost. In 2 Timothy 1:7, we are told that God has not given us a spirit of fear. So if a spirit of fear is not what He has given us, then He has given us the gift of fearlessness, and what God gives, Satan cannot take away. 

Money can’t buy the peace that passes understanding, which comes from the absence of fear. There are no possessions that can “guard your heart and mind” when facing fear. Nothing you own can help you during a season of trauma or tragedy. Having a loving family is a tremendous help when facing life’s tragedies, but what God gives is even greater than that. Colossians 3 tells us that during those times, you are to “set your mind on things above, not on things on earth. For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.” In His Sermon on the Mount, Jesus said to seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and let God handle everything else! The psalmist asks, “Why should I fear?” Yes, fortunes can be made and lost, but the Word of the Lord endures forever. The Lord himself promised that He will never leave us nor forsake us. The best things in life cannot be bought or lost, and we can always take comfort in that. 

Excerpt from “Beside Still Waters” now available on Amazon.

BARRY STAGNER