Psalm 49 – Good Ole Boy Theology
16 Do not be overawed when a man grows rich, when the splendor of his house increases; 17 for he will take nothing with him when he dies, his splendor will not descend with him.
I have been the funerals of some very wealthy and locally influential people. And like the Psalmist tells us here…..death equals the playing field.
I have never heard mention, at a funeral, how much someone made, what fortune they amassed (I’m sure there have been some), how well the wife and kids will live. No, most of the time you hear one of two stories.
One, you hear about what a great guy, husband, father, grandfather they were. Sometimes you hear about some accomplishments, deeds or accolades. You hear about….what a good guy he was.
But the funerals I like are the ones who say, you know ‘old Bill here’ he did all that stuff, got all these things…or maybe he didn’t, but today we know Bill is with Jesus…because of he lived his life, surrendered to the King.
You know, one of my least favorite lines in a secular funeral is….you know ‘good old Bill’ is in a better place, no more pain, no more suffering. Really? What about sin, what about grace, what about God…and His righteousness. What do you do with the sin? I wanna say these funerals may help perpetuate the ‘good old boy theology’. If you are good enough for the pastor to talk good about you…then you must be in a better place.
David, and subsequently Solomon knew that anything you amassed couldn’t substitute for knowing the redeeming grace of our creator.
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1 comment:
An appropriate sentiment for these times. It's hard not to be angry at the executives taking home million-dollar bonuses from banks seeking bailouts, but I keep telling myself that I have enough and that's all I need.
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