You Can't Take It with You
Though in his lifetime he blesses his soul— and men praise you when you prosper— Psalm 49:18 · Berean Standard Bible
Sure, when he's alive, he might congratulate himself and get everyone else to admire him when things are going well.
The psalmist describes what looks like success: the wealthy person is satisfied with himself, and society affirms it. People praise him. He's winning by every visible measure. This is the seductive power of wealth—it feels like proof of something meaningful. But it's not.
The psalmist, acknowledging the real pleasure and social validation that wealth brings, but framing it as temporary and hollow.
Jesus told a parable about a rich man who accumulated much, built bigger barns, and said to himself 'take life easy'—but God said his soul was demanded that night. The psalmist is making the same point: temporary success isn't real victory.
During life, the wealthy person may congratulate himself and receive praise from others, but this approval means nothing in light of what comes after.
The phrase בְחַיָּיו (bechayav, 'in his lifetime') establishes the temporal cage: applause and self-congratulation are trapped within life's boundaries. The Hebrew יִשְׁמְרוּ אֶל־קוֹל־טוֹבוֹ (yishru el-kol-tobo, 'men praise you when you prosper') suggests that human approval is contingent on visible success, not on actual worth.
The sage, continuing his deconstruction of what appears to constitute success—popular approval that proves ephemeral and ultimately meaningless.
This anticipates Jesus's warning against seeking human praise (Matthew 6:1-6; John 5:44) and his critique of those who 'loved the approval of men rather than the approval of God' (John 12:43). Medieval monasticism inverted this: seeking contempt rather than honor.
16Do not be afraid when a man grows rich, when the splendor of his house increases.
17For when he dies, he will carry nothing away; his abundance will not follow him down.
18Though in his lifetime he blesses his soul— and men praise you when you prosper—
19he will join the generation of his fathers, who will never see the light of day.
20A man who has riches without understanding is like the beasts that perish.
Read all of Psalm 49 — Wealth can't ransom a soul. The rich and the poor both die. The psalm that levels every bank account.
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