Optimism — two ways

 

2 Samuel 1; Psalm 49; Ezekiel 10; 1 Corinthians 12

Watching the news is painful. Realizing the bigger picture of what drives much of the activities in the world is also painful. My heart can be joyful because of Jesus yet at the same time ache because so many souls are clinging desperately to hopes and desires that are incredibly temporary. Health and wealth might make the days of our lives more pleasant yet I know that there are no U-Hauls behind hearses and no guarantees regarding health or the good life. Power and popularity do not last either.

The psalmist is pessimistic as well. Today’s reading is blunt: “ . . . even the wise die; the fool and the stupid alike must perish and leave their wealth to others. Their graves are their homes forever, their dwelling places to all generations, though they called lands by their own names. Man in his pomp will not remain; he is like the beasts that perish.” (Psalm 49:10–12)

Why think like that? The optimist looks at the same realities and sees good thing, the pleasure of home and achievement, of fame and luxuries. He thinks not about the end of life, yet is it wise to focus solely on the short- term pleasures of living in the now without some thought of what comes after life is over?

The psalmist includes his thoughts about eternity. In his gloom and doom pronouncement, he expresses hope for himself in great contrast to the fate of others who do not consider that all life eventually ends:

This is the path of those who have foolish confidence; yet after them people approve of their boasts. Selah. Like sheep they are appointed for Sheol; death shall be their shepherd, and the upright shall rule over them in the morning. Their form shall be consumed in Sheol, with no place to dwell. But God will ransom my soul from the power of Sheol, for he will receive me. Selah. Be not afraid when a man becomes rich, when the glory of his house increases. For when he dies, he will carry nothing away; his glory will not go down after him. For though, while he lives, he counts himself blessed —and though you get praise when you do well for yourself— his soul will go to the generation of his fathers, who will never again see light. Man in his pomp yet without understanding is like the beasts that perish. (Psalm 49:13–20)

Sad reading yet it did not destroy my joy. I can also say God will ransom my soul from the power of death and the grave because I know He will receive me and I will live with Him forever. That is a powerful and optimistic good thought.

Yet at the same time and in the same part of me, I also have a burden for those whom the psalmist describes as having foolish confidence in their wealth, glory, temporary blessings, fame and popularity because they have left out any confidence in what happens after they die. Or they have read into that slot ‘like the beasts that perish’ without realizing we are not like beasts at all. We are made in the image of God, created to know and love Him and be joyful in a relationship with Him that no animal enjoys.

I do not want anyone to perish without knowing their Creator, without understanding that no matter how good things are here, they will not last. Only what has been touched by the Creator and restored to what their created image was supposed to be in a union and fellowship with the Lord can live beyond dying.

How can anyone feel joy and a burden at the same time? It must be a God-thing. The human way is either forget the needs of others in the joy that my own are met, or I be in great despair because I know the fate of all who blindly go through life without considering their eternal destiny and who never find that joy because the good stuff of this life is enough for them. Yet I am both joyful and sad.

APPLY: Again, I can speak, write and live my faith — realizing that alone is not sufficient. Only God can open blind eyes and change priorities. “No one can say ‘Jesus is Lord’ except in the Holy Spirit.” (1 Corinthians 12:3) My prayers must continue because the needs in this world are huge. Unless my Almighty God — whose love and grace is beyond every ignorance and evil — does His work, we would all perish like beasts and be no more.