By Joe Slater
Maybe you should vacation in the
Rockies this summer. Back in 2010 Mr. Forest Fenn, a New
Mexico art dealer, hid a chest of gold nuggets and
precious jewels worth about $2-million somewhere in the
Rockies. He even published a map and poem he said
contained all the hints you need to find the treasure.
Some 350,000 people have tried to locate it, all to no
avail. A few people have died in accidents while
searching.
Mr. Fenn said he hid the cache to promote fishing and other outdoor activities involving families pursuing the riches. “I wanted to give kids something to do. They spend too much time in the game room or playing with their little handheld texting machines.”**
No doubt our children would be better served by hiking and fishing than by endlessly playing video games! And I understand the attraction of a $2-million stash of gold and jewels! I’m disturbed, however, by the preoccupation with “uncertain riches” (1 Timothy 6:17), contrasted with the evident lack of interest in eternal, spiritual matters.
Jesus spoke of a treasure hidden in a field; the man who found it sold everything he had to buy the field. It wasn’t money, but God’s kingdom (Matthew 13:44). I’d love to see 350,000 people seeking the kingdom with the intensity they show toward gold and jewels.
What about us? What are we telling our children when we will move heaven and earth to attend every practice and every game for sports, but casually miss Bible classes and church? We say God is most important, but is He? Really? Think about it.
- Joe Slater serves as minister of the Church of Christ in Justin, TX. He may be contacted through the congregation's website: http://justinchurchofchrist.com
**https://www.yahoo.com/news/millionaire-hid-treasure-rocky-mountains-134324925.html.
Mr. Fenn said he hid the cache to promote fishing and other outdoor activities involving families pursuing the riches. “I wanted to give kids something to do. They spend too much time in the game room or playing with their little handheld texting machines.”**
No doubt our children would be better served by hiking and fishing than by endlessly playing video games! And I understand the attraction of a $2-million stash of gold and jewels! I’m disturbed, however, by the preoccupation with “uncertain riches” (1 Timothy 6:17), contrasted with the evident lack of interest in eternal, spiritual matters.
Jesus spoke of a treasure hidden in a field; the man who found it sold everything he had to buy the field. It wasn’t money, but God’s kingdom (Matthew 13:44). I’d love to see 350,000 people seeking the kingdom with the intensity they show toward gold and jewels.
What about us? What are we telling our children when we will move heaven and earth to attend every practice and every game for sports, but casually miss Bible classes and church? We say God is most important, but is He? Really? Think about it.
- Joe Slater serves as minister of the Church of Christ in Justin, TX. He may be contacted through the congregation's website: http://justinchurchofchrist.com
**https://www.yahoo.com/news/millionaire-hid-treasure-rocky-mountains-134324925.html.
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