Why Waste Your Life? Series

Why Waste Your Life?

(Psalm 49)

1. Psalm 49 is categorized as a Wisdom Psalm, and it deals with the wisdom of living with a view toward eternity; none of us know when death may catch up to us.

2. Illustration: A friend loans you a car at the last moment. As he rushes off, he says, "By the way, the gas gage is broke." You have no idea whether the tank is almost full or nearly empty.

3. This is our status in life. Some of us die young, others live to be ancient. Most of us have no idea how much longer we have. We are always vulnerable.

4. And we all have a non-material part of us that we often call the soul. Not all respect it.

5. A bored student at the University of Washington used an Internet auction site to sell his soul to the highest bidder. As it turned out, the top offer was only $400.

Since the soul is immaterial, it can’t be extracted from a body like a physical organ such as a heart. The student had to admit, “I don’t think the high bidder is going to be able to collect on my soul.” [Radio Bible Class Daily Bread, Vernon Grounds]

6. How valuable is your soul? Do you know where its destiny lies?

Main Idea: Is your life a temporary distraction, or a preparation for the long term? Are you enjoying life while preparing for eternity, or is your focus solely the fleeting moments of this life?

TS –> The Sons of Korah contrast the pleasure-driven, abusive rich with the godly but sometimes poor in Psalm 49, and this text divides into two major divisions.

I. Finding Our SECURITY in God Affects Us Now and Forever (1-15)

A. It affects us in THIS life (1-6)

1. We seek UNDERSTANDING (1-4)

• Knowledge plus implications…connecting the dots…applying the knowledge

• Many modern Christians simply embrace the culture & go along with the fads…

• Because we have understanding, we are now more capable in other realms….

2. We can cope with life’s INEQUITIES (5-6)

Because we have understanding…

3. We realize the LIMITATIONS of money (7-9)

• I Peter 1:18-19, "For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your forefathers, but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect."

• The picture here is of ongoing mortal life, but the principle relates to eternal life as well.

• Have you ever wondered why it is important that Jesus Christ is deity?

B. It affects us in the LIFE to come (10-15)

1. Those living for the here and now are FOOLS (10-13)

This world is about image, not substance.

• Before my son could start going on job interviews, he needed to dress the part. That, he decided, required a $500 suit.

"What!?" I answered, gagging at the price tag. "I’ve bought cars for $500!"

"That’s why I want the $500 suit," he said. "So I don’t have to drive $500 cars." (Source: Reader’s Digest)

• Aesop: parable of the man hired to care for a horse…brushed, but sold off most food…

2. In the MORNING, believers will be vindicated (14)

3. Believers will be taken to the LORD’S side (15)

The disconnect we may have is in understanding that these truths have implications for us in the here and now; they affect our daily lives! If finding our security is supposed to affect us not only in eternity but now, how can we see this happen?

II. We Must INTEGRATE This Viewpoint into Our Thinking (16-20)

A. Who you ENVY affects your direction (16)

1. Proverbs 23:17, " Do not let your heart envy sinners, but always be zealous for the fear of the LORD."

2. If you envy the rich, the beautiful, the talented, or the powerful, you will probably become more like those people in some ways.

3. If you want to be like the godly, the devout, the Biblically obedient, you will probably move in that direction.

B. The long-range PERSPECTIVE keeps us from short-term foolishness (17)

1. Most of our regrets are caused by not thinking far enough ahead.

2. You take that first cigarette because you want to look tough and not so goody-goody, and you end up with emphysema later…

3. You plug up your arteries with bacon grease and suffer a heart attack…

4. You are down in the dumps, so you charge whatever it is that catches your eye …even though you cannot afford it

5. We try to teach our kids the idea of consequences, but sometimes we need a refresher course ourselves…

C. POPULARITY does not correlate with God’s way (18)