Daily Devotional – I’m Normal.™ I AM Ministries
“To promote Godly living in a culture committed to destroying it”
Monday, October 21, 2013
Gold or Gravel?
There’s an old saying in the mining industry that goes, “I’ve got a gold mine in my gravel pit and a gravel pit in my gold mine.” This saying underlies the fact that there are many more millionaires who made their fortune mining sand and gravel than there are millionaires who mined gold. As a former Colorado resident and mining engineer by education, I often heard how more money had been put into the hills and mountains of the state than had ever been taken out.
The allure of gold mining can be captivating. It’s exhilarating to see the glimmer of gold in the rock or the flecks and nuggets of gold in stream sediments – the miners call it “color”. When you find it, there is a great excitement, pleasure, and anticipation surrounding the discovery, often accompanied by a feeling of accomplishment and the hint of riches to come. But the wise man knows the risk in gold mining dwarfs the risk in gravel mining, which is low.
Most people are not attracted to gravel. It’s just sort of there, and pretty much everywhere you look. It’s available for the taking – all you have to do is gather it up. Gravel is so pervasive and common that it’s easy to forget it even has value. It’s dull, nondescript in color, and basically just boring. Most people do not experience the same tantalizing rush of excitement looking at pebbles of gravel as they do looking at glimmering pieces of gold. Yet typically, great riches lie in the gravel, whereas great loss lies in the search for the gold.
Many people look at God the way they look at a gravel mine. He is everywhere. They also perceive Him as boring and dull, failing to see the unsearchable riches that come with the package (Ephesians 3:8). Often people view God as not only dull but restrictive, and look elsewhere to find their fun and their wealth. Those who turn from God only have one option – Satan, but at great risk. Satan lures us with the same glimmer of excitement that people see in gold. They don’t see their investment in Satan’s ways as a loss.
Satan’s ways sparkle with excitement and dazzle. They are fun and full of pleasure, but are always loaded with sin. The problem with sin is there is always a price to pay, a price often far beyond that of what most people would be willing to pay. What has the sparkle and glint of gold turns out ultimately to be a heavy loss.
Obedience to God’s ways always brings riches and rewards. Instead of going for the quick fix of the gold, God offers a steady but predictable path to riches. Is it any wonder roads on Earth are paved with or have their foundations based on gravel, not gold? The roads paved with gold exist in Heaven only.
Obedience to Him always brings blessings. God is rich in mercy and love (Ephesians 2:4) and offers us grace at every turn. He offers us the “unsearchable riches of Christ” (Ephesians 3:8), and as heirs of the Kingdom the riches and rewards of His Heavenly home. The path to God may not seem exciting, but it has great intrinsic value.
It seems a reasonable guess that more time and energy have been invested in sin than in salvation. Regardless of whether this is true, investing in the riches of God will always bring a rewarding payoff versus the wages of sin which always come at a loss. God is the true treasure for which we search. He is the One who has intrinsic value, the pleasures of this world do not.
A gravel pit does not look like a normal way to become a millionaire to most people, but it’s a much surer bet than a gold mine. God’s ways may not look enticing to some, but His ways are a sure bet to achieving eternal riches and fortune. Each of us must make a decision as to where will invest ourselves, the gold mine of God’s “gravel pit” or the gravel pit in Satan’s “gold mine”, which only leads to death (Romans 6:23). Just remember that all that glitters is not gold. Which will you choose today?
In His love and service,
Jeff Myers
A servant of Jesus Christ
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