Truth or Lie?

It is a sad truth that men lie to themselves every day about what is truly important in life. The reality is that death ultimately comes to us all and the most important thing is being prepared to meet the creator of our souls when that time comes. A Psalm of the sons of Korah, Psalm 49 looks at many of the things we obsess over and lie about in our lives: the adversity we face, the wealth we accumulate, and the pride we take in our accomplishments. Adversity comes to us all although it manifests itself in different ways and levels in each of our lives. Psalm 49:5-6 asks the question, “Why should I fear in days of adversity, when the iniquity of my foes surrounds me, even those who trust in their wealth and boast in the abundance of their riches?” Even when faced with all the resources of an unbelieving adversary, the believer has to trust in a sovereign God when adversity comes. After all, “If God is for us, who can be against us?” (Rom. 8:31). Psalm 49 speaks of wealth and the arrogance of man in thinking that “their houses are forever and their dwelling places to all generations” to the point that they give their land “their own names” (vs. 11). The Bible calls this approach foolish (vs. 13) and death the shepherd (vs. 14) of these people who cannot redeem themselves (vs. 7), but all of us at some point have probably been deceived by a spirit of self-importance, which our worldly culture feeds upon. Fortunately, we have a redeemer, Jesus, who was willing to pay the costly price of our redemption (vs. 8), and He waits to receive us when death moves us to the next part of the journey of our souls. The sad part is that some men in their pride and arrogance reject the costly redemption that is freely offered to all, which makes them “like the beasts that perish” (vs. 20). This doesn’t have to be the case; the truth is that if we trust in Him for salvation and follow Him, “God will redeem [our] souls from the power of Sheol, for He will receive [us]” when we die (Psalm 49:15).