Most people trust in their wealth, and may even boast of their great riches.

Yet no one can ever redeem themselves from death, even if they were to try to pay their ransom to God with their pitiful gold!
Redemption of the soul does not come nearly so easy, for no sinner could ever pay enough to live forever and never see the grave… even those who are godly wise must finally die, just like the foolish and the senseless… everyone leaving all their wealth, family and assets behind them for someone else, as they leave this world as naked as they arrived into it.

The temptation for most people is to believe that “their houses shall continue for ever, and their dwelling places to all generations”, even after they die. They may even name their grand estates after themselves, thinking they leave an eternal legacy; but just like the morning mist on a summers day, their fame will not last. They will be brought down low and will die, just like animals. This is the fate of all people; even well known, wealthy fools – even though after they’ve died, they tend to be remembered and cherished by the remaining world for a little while as ‘being wise’. Though they believed themselves to be lions, instead like sheep they are led to the grave, where death will be their eternal shepherd. Their bodies will rot in the grave, far away from those grand estates.

But as for those of us who trust in Jesus, God will redeem our lives… He will snatch us from the power of the grave! Fear of the Lord is a life-giving fountain; it offers escape from the snares of death. Even death hold no secrets from the Lord! How much more then does He know the human heart…

There is a path before each person that SEEMS right, but it actually ends in death. Though they are unaware of it, sin whispers to the wicked, deep within their hearts.That’s why they have no fear of God at all, for they are in agreement with it. In their blind conceit, they cannot see how wicked they really are, and everything they say is crooked and deceitful. They just refuse to act wisely, or do good according to God’s standards. They even lie awake at night, hatching their sinful plots without even once recognising that the Lord is watching them closely. Their actions are never wholly good, always with ulterior motives even though they tend to think they themselves are good people, and they never make any attempt to turn from their evil and repent in shame at the foot of the cross.

So even though it’s tempting to wonder about the justice of it all, don’t ever be dismayed when the foolish and wicked grow rich, and their homes become ever more splendid. For when they die, they take nothing of it with them. Their wealth will not follow them into their graves. In this life they consider themselves fortunate and are applauded for all their successes; but they will die like all those before them, and they will never again see the light of day. What a terribly sad fact that people who boast of their health and wealth simply don’t understand that they WILL die within a few years, just like animals do.

Simpletons like these people turn away from wisdom during their lavish lives, unto death. Such fools are destroyed by their own complacency. In fact, these people who hate wisdom, actually love death; and they shall indeed receive it – eternally.