YOU CAN'T TAKE IT WITH YOU

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In Christ, Mark

The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

Hear this, all you peoples; listen, all who live in this world, both low and high, rich and poor alike:

My mouth will speak words of wisdom; the meditation of my heart will give you understanding. I will turn my ear to a proverb; with the harp I will expound my riddle:

Why should I fear when evil days come, when wicked deceivers surround me — those who trust in their wealth and boast of their great riches?

No one can redeem the life of another or give to God a ransom for them — the ransom for a life is costly, no payment is ever enough — so that they should live on forever and not see decay. For all can see that the wise die, that the foolish and the senseless also perish, leaving their wealth to others. Their tombs will remain their houses forever, their dwellings for endless generations, though they had named lands after themselves.

People, despite their wealth, do not endure; they are like the beasts that perish.

This is the fate of those who trust in themselves, and of their followers, who approve their sayings. They are like sheep and are destined to die; death will be their shepherd (but the upright will prevail over them in the morning). Their forms will decay in the grave, far from their princely mansions. But God will redeem me from the realm of the dead; He will surely take me to Himself.

Do not be overawed when others grow rich, when the splendor of their houses increases; for they will take nothing with them when they die, their splendor will not descend with them. Though while they live they count themselves blessed — and people praise you when you prosper — they will join those who have gone before them, who will never again see the light of life.

People who have wealth but lack understanding are like the beasts that perish.

Psalm 49

This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

The play “You Can’t Take It With You” was set in the mid-1930’s and is centered on the home of the wacky and eccentric Vanderhoff family in New York City. The home, belonging to Grandpa Martin Vanderhoff,

Maybe it'll stop you trying to be so desperate about making more money than you can ever use? You can't take it with you, Mr. Kirby. So what good is it?”  Grandpa Martin Vanderhoff entertained a collection of characters which included Martin’s daughter Penny, her husband Paul and their two daughters, Alice and Essie. Essie was married and her husband Ed was in the house as well as family friend, Mr. De Pinna, the family maid Rheba and her boyfriend Donald, and finally Essie’s ballet coach, Boris Kolenkhov.

Alice, Martin’s unmarried granddaughter, meets a man, Tony Kirby, who courts her and has aspirations of marriage. His family was the polar opposite of the Vanderhoffs, straight-laced and conservative. The Kirbys had money and stature and carried themselves as such. This worried Alice who was afraid that her family, with all their idiosyncrasies, would damage her chance of marrying Tony.

After a disastrous scene where Tony’s parents come to visit the Vanderhoffs, experience all that Alice had feared, and leave, Alice decides to reject Tony’s proposal and leave for the Adirondacks to be by herself. Tony begs for Alice to see him but she refuses. Mr. Kirby comes to convince his son to go home. All seems lost until Grandpa Vanderhoff comes to the rescue, convincing all parties to adopt his attitude that personal happiness should be placed ahead of success and money. Look at the following words he said:

“Maybe it'll stop you trying to be so desperate about making more money than you can ever use? You can't take it with you, Mr. Kirby. So what good is it? As near as I can see, the only thing you can take with you is the love of your friends.”

The point the grandfather was trying to make is that you can devote a lot of time in your life to all the wrong things. In this example, it was money and status. Martin convinced all parties that you couldn’t take any of those things with you when life was over but you could take love along. His words convinced Alice to change her mind to marry Tony and Mr. Kirby actually stayed to enjoy some blintzes for dinner and fellowship with the family he had rejected before.

Yes, there are so many things in life we can’t take with us. This theme from the play is also the theme of the 49th Psalm. Look at this scripture a moment:

Hear this, all you peoples; listen, all who live in this world, both low and high, rich and poor alike:

My mouth will speak words of wisdom; the meditation of my heart will give you understanding. I will turn my ear to a proverb; with the harp I will expound my riddle:

Why should I fear when evil days come, when wicked deceivers surround me — those who trust in their wealth and boast of their great riches?

No one can redeem the life of another or give to God a ransom for them — the ransom for a life is costly, no payment is ever enough — so that they should live on forever and not see decay. For all can see that the wise die, that the foolish and the senseless also perish, leaving their wealth to others. Their tombs will remain their houses forever, their dwellings for endless generations, though they had named lands after themselves.

People, despite their wealth, do not endure; they are like the beasts that perish.

This is the fate of those who trust in themselves, and of their followers, who approve their sayings. They are like sheep and are destined to die; death will be their shepherd (but the upright will prevail over them in the morning). Their forms will decay in the grave, far from their princely mansions. But God will redeem me from the realm of the dead; He will surely take me to Himself.

Do not be overawed when others grow rich, when the splendor of their houses increases; for they will take nothing with them when they die, their splendor will not descend with them. Though while they live they count themselves blessed — and people praise you when you prosper — they will join those who have gone before them, who will never again see the light of life.

People who have wealth but lack understanding are like the beasts that perish.

The psalmist here is making it pretty clear. Relying on wealth and riches to define your life leaves you empty handed when it’s all over with. Nothing of tangible, earthly value has eternal spiritual significance. That only comes from Jesus, the Way and the Truth and the Life, the only One who can get us to God our Father to live forever.

The value in eternity doesn’t come from our affluence or life of luxury. The prosperous so often see themselves as blessed in terms of their possessions and prosperity. They have a skewed understanding of what being rich really means, evident by the fact that they place their trust in their earthly treasure more than they do the Lord who gave it to them. They would rather place more significance on the mansion they live in on earth than the one Jesus has prepared for them.

Indeed, you’ll recall that Jesus taught on this very subject. Here’s what He had to say during His Sermon on the Mount:

“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” Matthew 6:19-21

First the psalmist and then Jesus tried to get us to adjust our focus on the real treasure of life, Jesus. Is there anything of more value to us than Him? As Christians, the answer needs to be a resounding “yes”!

For at the heart of a Christian one is supposed to find Jesus, but this can only happen when we make Him our treasure. Remember that whatever you choose to treasure, there your heart will be.

Friends, no one can take their possessions with them when life ends and no one knows when that will happen, unless the Lord of course. And they shouldn’t want to. Instead, they should trade it all for Jesus who gave His all to save us when He will return one day to take us with Him forever.

Oh what a glorious and spectacular day that will be, a day when we won’t need anything else but to be in the presence of God the Father and Jesus His Son forever.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

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