email

Fool’s Gold

Dreams of easy riches often drive men during a gold rush. Unbridled ambition can lead men to acts of desperation, cruelty, and even murder. In a way what is hidden deep in our nature is exposed. We usually recoil from considering that we have such darkness in us. We should be thankful that in Christ we have the opportunity to transcend our fallen nature.

During the frenzy of a gold rush, men sometimes become blind to what is true. The mineral iron pyrite looks similar to gold and can be mistaken for it by one not looking closely or knowing what real gold looks like. In a way Satan has guided the world to offer a sort of “fool’s gold” substitute to what God offers. In response to the first humans choosing to sin, God put a curse on the earth not so much as punishment, but as a limit on the degree to which our own selfishness could carry us to destruction.

We can see what happens to people who live without the limits God placed in nature. The aristocracy and wealthy throughout history have shown the corrosive effects of prosperity both to individuals and societies. In such environments vanity, delusion, and greed can grow without restriction.

Satan knows that we are attracted to what is fast, cheap, easy, and feels good. He structures his deceptions using what appeals to us .For example, instead of sinners in need of salvation, we are told that we are evolving and are better than primitive people in history. Instead of the self-sacrificial love needed to raise children, we are sold the idea that killing (IUDs and oral contraceptives) children with birth control is responsible so that we can live in prosperity. By using money as the measure of all things, other things like character, knowledge, self-discipline, and God become neglected.

The Internet and cell phones seem to bring in a new age of convenience. However, few can see that with the flick of a “switch” one can be completely cut off from society and the means to live (food clothing, shelter, etc.) (Rev 13:17). The Industrial Revolution and the advances in technology seemed to assure us that as humans we were on a trajectory towards utopia. The destruction of families, impoverishment of character, and the establishment of a seemingly permanent underclass all point to the possibility that the future is not a bright as some would have us believe.

It can be difficult for those who seek to carve out a life separate from the lemming like pursuit of a Potemkin future similar to the cardboard sets of the TV show Star Trek. The Christian view of the future should not be based on the false view of man’s achievement, but on the payment for man’s sin made by Jesus 2,000 years ago. Christians have the opportunity to have discernment and see the truth of man’s miserable state apart from Christ. It can be painful to see so many caught in a tidal wave of deception, delusion, and desire that blinds them to the actual destination their path is taking them.

Christians have the opportunity to have real “gold” now as opposed to chasing after the deceptive “golden” future that always seems just out of reach. Serving the Lord by building on the foundation of Christ can accrue rewards that are called “gold” (1Cor 3:11-12).

Information about Christianity and the Christian life.