Gold and Silver I Have None
Treasure hunting is very competitive. People will do whatever it takes to find a hidden treasure. In a recent article in The Verge, a treasure hunter named John Stuef found a chest filled with 22 pounds of gold and jewel buried in a field in Wyoming. The treasure was placed their by Forrest Finn, an art dealer from Santa Fe in 2010. Finn, left clues for hunters which led to intrigue, mystery and foul play. Stuef tried to remain anonymous but a lawsuit filed by another treasure hunter, stating that he hacked her computer and arrived at the site right before she got there and stole the treasure from her.
As a Biblical counselor on a college campus, part of my role is to help students navigate their finances and prepare for financial decisions they will make once they leave college. I want them to look at their finances through the lens of the gospel. This requires more than a budget. It has everything to with the heart. “Jesus says in Matthew 6:19–33 that we are all treasure hunters” (Tripp 159). I want to caution students about the “If I only had_____”(Tripp 159). I don’t want them to buy into the lie that the more I acquire and the more I posses the happier I will be. They will spend there entire lives chasing after something that will never truly satisfy them. Paul Tripp writes, “Whatever it is you are living for is your financial treasure, no matter what you profess to believe or who you confess to serve” (Tripp 159). I want my student to live for the gospel. I want them to make financial decisions with the gospel message as their anchor.
In Acts 3, Peter and John are going to the temple to pray. As they reach the temple gate they see a man crippled from birth. He asks Peter and John for money. “Peter looked straight at him, as did John” (Acts 3:4). “Then Peter said, “Silver and gold I do not have, but what I have I give you”(Acts 3:6). Through the power of the Holy Spirit, God used Peter to heal the man and gave him the ability to walk. Later in the story Peter shares how the man was healed. “By faith in the name of Jesus, this man whom you see and know was made strong. It is Jesus’ name and the faith that comes through him that has given this complete healing to him as you can all see”(Acts 3:16).
Peter and John gave him the treasure of knowing Jesus. Knowing Jesus is greater than silver, gold or any treasure chest buried in Wyoming.
Clark, Mitchell. “A Secretive Treasure is Unmasked by a Court Case. The Verge. A secretive treasure hunter is unmasked by a court case — The Verge. Dec 2020.
The Bible. New International Version. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2004.
Tripp, Paul. Sex and Money. Wheaton: Crossway, 2013.
