Psalm Meditation 1365 ¶Proper 15 ¶August 16, 2026 ¶Psalm 73 ¶https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=psalm%2073&version=NRSVUE ¶In the biblical era, resources that indicated wealth were considered to be very limited. Due to those limits, the only way someone could be rich was by taking resources from someone else. For every rich person, there would be a large number of poor people. Being rich was synonymous with being wicked and arrogant. Even knowing that, it is tempting to want to be one of the rich folks. From the perspective of those in poverty, the rich seem to be trouble free. They are healthy, happy, well fed – totally trouble free. ¶Many of us are aware that, while the rich ‘are not in trouble as others are’ they have their own set of worries. Wealth can disappear much more quickly and easily than it can be made, so one of the plagues of wealth is fear; fear that it will all be lost or taken by those around them. Everyone becomes a potential adversary, a threat to wealth and to life itself. The fear can be lived out as arrogance, convincing themselves, and those around them, that they are the most important part of the universe. It can also be expressed in reclusive miserliness. ¶The psalmist realizes that something more important than material wealth is a rich relationship with God, and the people of God. Relationships give us the ability to see those around us as people with needs as well as resources. We can use our gifts for the sake of the community, as we call on the gifts of the community to meet our needs. ¶August 10, 2026 ¶LCM lcmanifold@gmail.com http://psalmmeditations.blogspot.com/