Every once in a while somebody with a metal detector hits the beaches looking for treasure. Those who have mastered their machines know where to look and when to dig, thus saving valuable time. Some scour old maps and historical articles on microfilm in libraries to discover a possible site that will uncover lost treasure. The skilled at this hobby are actually able to make a living from it.
Other treasures
Some individuals store up gold, silver, platinum and valuable metals, hoping their value will increase over time. Others use these metals as a hedge against their country's fiat currency. Still others are holding on to these metals for bartering purposes if and when the world economy eventually collapses.
Treasure proof
I recently watched a 12-minute video on #Odysee, a video platform that pays you to watch and post videos. The video site does not censor like You Tube and Facebook. Anyway, the man has a channel that shows clips of people who have found valuables within the past week. He typically posts on Monday's, U.S. time.
His last video (they are all good) had a partial clip of an older gentleman metal detecting in a shallow area of a lake. Within an half hour, the man had found nearly $10,000 worth of gold rings. Amazing, right? The guy didn't say what he was going to do with them: store, sell or swap, but he went back to searching for more treasures. He had been looking in the right place.
Treasures in your house
Have you ever taken a look around the inside of your house and garage (if you have the latter)? What treasures now lie on dusty shelves or in unopened bins and cardboard boxes? And why did you put them there? Are they broken, useless or did you just grow tired of them?
An honest inventory of your possessions will tell you how you define your life's work. How much have you accumulated? A lot?
Maybe you have enough junk possessions to fill up a truck! What are you doing with them - pass them on to your heirs so they can take them to the dump? What are their real value now and in the future?
Treasure comparison
Contrast your treasures and valuables to the poor people begging on the streets of our cities. You're rich, right? We all are. We have a tendency to store up material possessions over our lifetimes. Some of us have to buy the latest trends that quickly fall out of vogue, and then we buy again.
Personally, I don't have that habit (but I used to). I still have a nice LED TV that hasn't been turned on since shortly after the pandemic (I don't need the scaremongering and the coercion to take the jab). My clothes aren't as stylish as I could afford: simple clothing works well for me. I'm not out to impress anyone with luxury bags and shoes and trinkets and the like. I try my best to purchase only what I need for my son and me.
Oh, I'm not a miser by any stretch of the imagination nor am I an old spinster who saves soap scraps in a tin box. Not at all. Growing up in a poor family in the jungle I the southern Philippines taught me a lot about how to value money. Heck, I never even owned a toy. Instead, we played with sticks, aluminum cans and flip flops. We were inventive.
Allan Jackson
One of my favorite pastors preaches in Tennessee (the US for those that do not know). Recently he spoke some important truths when he said:
"Many of us spend our time and energies as if our lives consisted of how much we own. We all need to own things, of course, and I’m not opposed to nice things; but Jesus tells us to 'Watch out!' and be careful that our things don’t begin to define our lives." Bingo!
Treasures in Heaven
Jesus says our emphasis should be on accumulating the things that will matter in the life to come, that is, “treasures in heaven" (Matthew 6:19-21).
"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 neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in or steal " (Matthew 6:19-20).
Tell the truth
How much of your time and energy is spent accumulating material things that have no eternal value? What treasure defines your life? Treasures on earth or treasures in heaven? Be careful - God is keeping track even if you're not.
Pienso que acumular materialismo nos va secando por dentro. Mejor estemos llenos de amor pasión, buen deseo y entrega a lo bueno. Esto es el oro que si debemos tener. Lindo día.