Psalm 49-These Money Things

People, despite their wealth, do not endure;
    they are like the beasts that perish.¹³ This is the fate of those who trust in themselves,
    and of their followers, who approve their sayings. Psalm 49:12-13

Scripture generally takes a pretty low view of the value that man attaches to wealth. It compares those who trust in money to animals that are killed at will. To understand where the Psalmist is coming from, allow me to share a story on how money can play with us.

Scar was a simple Christian. He believed that a short prayer and a daily dose of scripture were enough to see him through life’s challenges. He had struggled through life but now things were beginning to look up. He had a nice job that paid him a tidy bonus each year. This he studiously saved because his mind was out there. Like many Kenya’s working-class he had a side-hustle; a fleet management company run by his wife. To his delight it had grown steadily over the years and was now looking like it could sustain his family job or no job. On the day he quit employment he also signed a multi-million dollar contract with a Chinese firm which had just won a government tender. He was rich or so he thought. What he did not know is that Mammon, the unseen god of money had sensed an opportunity to deliver another soul to the dark side.

Now the Great King who sits in heaven had received a most curious petition from Satan regarding this faithful minion called Scar. Unlike Job of yesteryears, Satan asserted that Scar’s financial struggles were the only thing keeping him faithful to his God. The Great King listened attentively and then answered, “Very well; so what do you intend to do with Scar to test his faithfulness to me?’ Satan summoned Mammon and said that he would tempt Scar using Mammon. And so began a series of events on earth that would change Scar’s life completely. The angels went to work immediately to ensure that the temptations that Scar would be subjected to were within the parameters permitted (1 Cor. 10:13). At the same time the hordes of hell retreated to plan their next steps meticulously. They knew that they had only one shot at setting  Scar on the path that could help Mammon be effective. If they failed they would have their Master’s dogs roasting their weary behinds in the fiery pits of hell for a long time. If they succeeded they could share in that invigorating phenomenon that earthlings could give spirits-worship. Mammon would milk every ounce of self-glorifying worship from Scar for as long as he lived and they could demand their share of the spoils. Finally if Scar stayed the path, they would enjoy the almost orgasmic pleasure of seeing his beleaguered soul descending into their abode as other demons hooted and clawed for a moments pleasure of torturing a damned soul.  If played well, not even the many angels surrounding Scar could save him in the end.

Mammon knew that Scar knew his bible well. He therefore could not request the services of Doubt to tempt Scar. He had to approach this with a different strategy. He called upon Conniving and together they worked out a good plan. The first thing they did was to arrange for Scar to win the Chinese tender. This was easy since it played on Scar’s ambition to get filthy rich. The second part was to offer Scar the finer things in life that he had desired for so long. With his new-found financial muscle, Scar could at last enjoy the best of culinary fare in posh hotels, drive a car that was the envy of his neighbours and dress as tastefully as he wished. He travelled without too much struggle to sample the world’s famous tourist attractions. At home he ‘gadgeted’ his house with the only the best and latest electronics. He was careful not to sin as he enjoyed his wealth but what he did not know was that Mammon was carefully checking that his moves fell neatly into his plan; like a choreographer who meticulously checks that his dancers do not miss a step. Meanwhile Scar’s heart was slowly undergoing some subtle changes. The angels assigned to him were increasingly finding it difficult to protect him.

After Mammon felt that he had succeeded in shifting Scar’s attention from God sufficiently by feeding his carnal desires with all manner of creature comforts, he moved into phase two of his strategy.

He started stirring the tried and tested vice that all humans possess-pride. The vile god, Pride was summoned to water Scar’s vanity with offerings of power that only money can buy. All of a sudden, Scar could not stand any persons he considered poor. He half-listened to his pastor droning on and on about self-denial (Luke 9: 23). He berated traffic police-men who dared stop him on the road and he barely cast a glance at the security guards who opened for him the gate to his mansion daily. He was done with old friends who were not making it in life. He desperately wanted to ‘fit in’ with the rich and famous in the golf-clubs he sampled. He started talking about running for ‘high office’.  

At this stage Mammon knew that his plan had passed the difficult part. And though he hated humans intensely, he had studied them well. He knew that the despicable creatures at the stage Scar was in had lost a bit of their humanity. Even without their conscious knowledge they would cross an invisible spiritual line and start considering others not as successful as they to be of lesser value. From this point on they could be relied upon to make all decisions based solely on their economic value. They were devoid of compassion where economic reality clashed with human need. Meanwhile the angels around Scar were almost desperate. They had a difficult time getting Scar to remember Saint Paul’s words which he had memorised early in his walk of faith;

Live in harmony with one another. Do not be proud, but be willing to associate with people of low position. Do not be conceited. Romans 12:16

 In due time Scar, was all but lost. Mammon allowed more wealth to flow through his hands as he saw that the fruit of pride in his life was almost ripe. Scar would still attend church and bible study fellowships but Mammon knew that despite all these outward appearances, Scar was lost to the heavenly King. And as the fruit of pride ripened Mammon summoned Fear and Disaster who deftly dealt Scar a series of blows. First his son studying abroad sent them a note saying that he had been caught snorting cocaine. This he managed to deal with swiftly. Freedom was one of those things money could buy. However DISEASE knocked him down with cancer and DEATH showed his shadow briefly in Scar’s life. Scar was woefully scared of the cancer but once more his healthy bank account procured him the best medical attention money could buy and he survived.
Mammon rubbed his hands in glee. He could see that Scar’s transformation was complete. He had shifted his life-defences from the heavenly King to money. He mused at how humans at his final stage of deception begin seeing temporal money and not their God as a bulwark against life’s vagaries. He noticed with satisfaction that Scar’s life was now controlled by only one thing-the fear of DEATH.
 At every turn he applied his resources to save him from the threat of death. He had seasons of deep regret that he knew not how to solve. He could not, at this stage in his life obey the whisper in his mind offering a path back to peace. The sacrifice would be too great. Because he had fallen so far, the Spirit of God would have nothing less than a total divorce from his hard-earned wealth. The angels were not giving up entirely. They kept trying and would keep trying to the last moment to reignite the dying embers in his soul . The fire could be lit if only these words could flare once more in Scar’s heart;

¹⁴ Since the children have flesh and blood, he too shared in their humanity so that by his death he might break the power of him who holds the power of death—that is, the devil— ¹⁵ and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death. Heb. 2:14-15