Little Lesson 8: What to do with gold.

SCRIPTURE:   ‘Master,’ he said, ‘I knew that you are a hard man, harvesting where you have not sown and gathering where you have not scattered seed. So I was afraid and went out and hid your gold in the ground. See, here is what belongs to you.’ Matthew 25:24 NIV

THOUGHT: It was an amazing lesson to learn. I had grown into an adult who didn’t want or need anyone or anything. Or at least that’s how I acted. My real heart was in hiding. I was deathly afraid to show weakness or neediness – those were words I despised. Like the servant in the parable, playing it safe was my MO. I gave the Master what I thought was his of my life — very little, and certainly not my heart or full trust.

One of the gifts of brokenness was a truth that has never left me: when we become ready to admit our need, God is ready with a solution; when we walk around in pride or fear, we can’t receive the treasure he wants to give. Sometimes he wants to give to us through another human being, but when we stop that process because of our pride or fear, we are stopping what God wants to do in another.

The flip side of that truth is that we cannot give what he wants us to give either. We are like a pond good only for growing scum, or a treasure buried, not useful.

It was both humbling and thrilling to discover that even in brokenness, I had treasure to give – first and foremost my story of redemption. So, I have never hidden it, trusting that in its telling, the sacrifice of my own pride, God might meet a need in someone else.

We all have some gold. To us it might look dusty, dirty, ugly – but in the kingdom of heaven, giving and receiving gold like that is part of the master’s plan. Redemption is being bought back, with a price, cleaned up and set on our feet again.

There is treasure at the bottom of this ocean
We could choose to keep it safe, almost forgotten
And I know we have our reasons that we leave it buried there
‘Cause the wind might blow
And the waves can crash
And it could be lost
And it might not last

But what if our treasure is what He desires?
What if the secrets that we keep are what another soul requires
To finally find the courage to set sail despite the storm
And what if this buried treasure is really not our own?
What if this buried treasure is really not our own?

Amy Clemens & Meghan Yurk “BURIED TREASURE” 7/6/06

PRAYER: In your great big plan for giving and receiving, Lord, help me neither scoff at my bag of gold or bury it, nor reject the gift of gold from you through another’s hand.