Skip to main content

New Year Trash or Treasure?

You probably know the old saying:  “One man’s trash is another man’s treasure”.  I am not going to try to prove or disprove it, just look at it from a different angle.

Cheryl and I were recently walking on a beach in Florida.  A man was walking along with a bag and was picking up trash and putting it in the bag.  Was he picking up things of value?

We also saw a different man walking along the same beach with a metal detector.  He would swing it back and forth and would occasionally stop and dig in the sand.  Was he looking for things of value?

Both were intent.  Both were focused.  Both were diligent.

I’m guessing that the one picking up trash was not looking for things of value.  I’m also guessing that, by picking up trash, he was valuing the beauty of the beach and didn’t want the trash to mar it. 

The one with the metal detector, I’m guessing that he was not looking for metallic items of trash but was looking for metallic items of value that were lost or inadvertently left behind.  As far as valuing the beauty of the beach, well I doubt that was very much on his mind since I didn’t see him keep the things that he dug up that had no value to him.

As I watched both, I started thinking about what we value or treasure.  The Bible cuts to the heart of things on this topic!

Where our treasure is, there will be our heart also (Matthew 6:21).

Things of great value need to be pursued above all else (Matthew 13:46).

When we pursue things of eternal value, a lot of other things fall into place (Matthew 6:33).

Sometimes things of lesser value (or no real value) can consume us (1 John 2:15-16).

As I look at a new year, I think it would be good for me to re-evaluate what I treasure.  If I’m honest with myself, sometimes trash is what I end up treasuring instead of treasure that has eternal value!





Comments

  1. Jeff SnyderFebruary 3, 2018 at 9:00 AM

    Enjoying these posts! I appreciate your observations and reflections expressed in short, simple stories. Very nice!

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Can't Get No Satisfaction

One of the songs that were popular in my youth was not particularly upbeat or helpful but it probably did express some of the angst of my generation.  It was not one that particularly resonated with me but as I recently read the book of Haggai, it did come to mind, well, at least some of the lyrics did.  It was the Rolling Stones song with the lyrics “I can’t get no satisfaction”.  Take a look at the chorus of that bleak song:   I can't get no satisfaction; I can't get no satisfaction; Gonna try and I try and I try and I try; I can't get no - I can't get no –   Now take a look at Haggai 1:6 – “ You have planted much, but harvested little. You eat, but never have enough. You drink, but never have your fill. You put on clothes, but are not warm. You earn wages, only to put them in a purse with holes in it.” It sure sounds like the people of Judah couldn’t get any satisfaction with the things of life that normally should have brought some type of s...
Post a Comment
Read more

Hide Not...

Over the centuries, the words have brought great comfort and encouragement.   The words are often used as a benediction or a blessing:   The Lord bless you and keep you: The Lord make his face to shine upon you, and be gracious to you: The Lord lift up his countenance upon you, and give you peace.   (Num 6:24-26)   What in the world is a countenance?  By definition, it is a person's face or facial expression. So if the Lord’s face shines upon us and if He lifts up His countenance upon us, what does all that mean? It means that He is giving us His attention.  But even more so, His face shining upon us gives us t he picture of a beaming face like that of a parent for their beloved child.  And the reference to Him lifting up His countenance points to God extending divine favor and peace to us. Sometimes we can appreciate things more by seeing opposites.  The opposite of a lifted face is a face that has fallen, perhaps because of sham...
Post a Comment
Read more

A Horse Of Course

In Biblical times, horses represented military power and strength.  And if you had both horses and chariots, well, that was the ultimate of military powers and wars were often won with them. Yet in seeking to have what would normally be considered insurmountable military strength, there was one factor that was often overlooked.  The Psalmist made it clear what that factor was when he wrote:  “Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the Lord our God.”   (Ps 20:7) While Israel did at times trust in the name of the Lord, there were other times when they tried to trust in horses and chariots to win their battles.  This is what the Lord spoke to Israel through the prophet Isaiah:  “Woe to those who go down to Egypt for help,   who rely on horses, who trust in the multitude of their chariots   and in the great strength of their horsemen, but do not look to the Holy One of Israel, or seek help from the Lord .”  ...
Post a Comment
Read more