“Stumbling Over Wealth” – FBC Morning Light (4/12/2023)

Psalm 73 and the Temptation to Envy the Wealthy

Well, good Wednesday morning to you. Today we're reading in Joshua 15 and 16, John 5, and the 73rd Psalm. Psalm 73 challenges us to think about our attitude toward those who are wealthy. We live in a very prosperous country, all things considered, especially in comparison to the rest of the world.

We live in a very prosperous country, and because of that prosperity we're able to see a lot of prosperity. I mean, you can drive down the road, even in our relatively small community of 15 ,000 people, you can drive down the road, you see somebody drive by in, you know, a BMW or a $65 ,000 Tesla or, you know, one of these big, super big vehicles that are, you know, all decked out and all this kind of stuff.

It costs $100 ,000 for a vehicle, and we can see these kinds of things, and, you know, you look at what you're driving, and you look at what they're driving. Or, I used to live in the Chicago suburbs and lived in a very modest, small, three-bedroom house.

The bedrooms were so small you could hardly turn around in them, kind of a thing. And I didn't live too far from Barrington, and I don't know if you know anything about Barrington, the suburb of Chicago, but it's one of those real hoity-toity communities.

A lot of very, very expensive houses, multi-million dollar homes, and so forth. And, you know, so I can get in my little car and leave my little house and drive 10 minutes, and I can drive by all these big, huge, beautiful homes, and if I'm not careful, I can come to feel like the psalmist expresses in Psalm 73.

Listen to what he says. Psalm 73, the first couple of verses, he says, you know, God is good to Israel, such as are pure in heart, but as for me, my feet had almost stumbled, my steps had nearly slipped, for I was envious of the boastful when I saw the prosperity of the wicked.

I just about tumbled and fell. He's talking about spiritually speaking here, and he goes on to recount all the ways in which the wealthy are in much better shape than he is. You know, they seem to be able to get away with anything, they don't seem to have any problems, and, you know, it seems like their money can buy them solutions, and, you know, it's an answer for everything, and so on and so forth.

Now, of course, the reality is that one of the problems is you can't see closely enough. If you saw inside their homes and inside their lives, you'd realize they were a mess, but looking on the outside, you don't necessarily see that.

You just see living in the lap of luxury, and you compare it with yourself, and your foot almost slips. And it does, because you think, you may think to yourself, well, you know, why am I trying to live for God?

It seems like trying to live for God, I ought to have that kind of prosperity. That was exactly the thought of the psalmist. I mean, listen to what he says in verses 13 and 14. He says, Surely I have cleansed my heart in vain and washed my hands in innocence.

For all day long I've been plagued and chastened every morning. What's he saying? He's saying, you know, I'm trying to do right, I'm trying to live for God, I'm trying to live pure, follow the commandments, and all that kind of stuff, and where has it gotten me?

I don't have any of this prosperity, I don't know any of this wealth and experience any of this. What good has it been? What a distorted view of living for God. And so the psalmist has to finally come to the place where he says, I about totally lost it.

Until I went to the house of the Lord and considered their end, and I got to thinking about where they end up, you know, and then it dawned on me that having all this stuff, having a great deal of wealth, having more money in your bank account than you'll ever spend in your lifetime, all of that stuff is meaningless in terms of eternity.

The person who owns it all is going to come to the end of his life, and then what's he going to do with it? He's going to be gone. He's going to enter into eternity, and then what will he face? Then what will he face?

Gratefully, through those times of conflicting thoughts in the mind, the Lord is faithful. He's gracious and he's merciful. Listen to how the psalmist ends this. He says to the Lord,. Nevertheless, I am continually with you.

You hold me by my right hand. You will guide me with your counsel, and afterward you'll receive me into glory. After just complaining about all that the wealthy get away with, and all that they enjoy, and he doesn't get any of it, he comes to the conclusion that there's something more important and more valuable than all that stuff, and that is being continually with God, having him hold me by my right hand and guide me through my life with his counsel, and then receiving me to himself.

How much more valuable is that even than great wealth? Well, I hope that's what you have. I hope that's your wealth, your eternal wealth, your spiritual wealth, that far outstrips any other that we might possess.

So our Father and our God, give us, I pray, a heavenly perspective on these things that can so easily trouble us in this world, and this we pray in Jesus' name, amen. All right, well listen, have a good rest of your Wednesday, and I trust the Lord will give you a good day.

God bless.