Titanic Treasures: Who Will Get What?

Nearly 100 years after the monster catastrophe, a federal judge will soon rule on the treasures and artifacts from the infamous Titanic – a word still today fully associated with major disaster. The great ‘unsinkable’ ship remains to this day some 2 ½ miles beneath the Atlantic. It went down in icy international waters on April 15, 1912, and continues to be the watery grave for 1,522 of the ill-fated passengers. And with the original owners long deceased, the vessel’s contents have been subject to competing legal claims ever since an international team found the sunken and decaying craft back in 1985.

Today the salvage company, RMS Titanic Inc., is seeking compensation for the ship’s remaining 5,900 items that they project as having a current value of 110 million dollars. But the company claims their total investment for locating, rescuing, and preserving the historic boat's contents exceeds that impressive figure. RMST has been conducting traveling displays of the prized artifacts and state that the items have been viewed by some 3 million people worldwide. But U.S. District Judge Rebecca Beach Smith, a maritime jurist, stated, "I am concerned that the Titanic is not only a national treasure, but in its own way an international treasure, and it needs protection and it needs to be monitored." She is expected to rule within weeks that the salvaged items must remain together and accessible to the public.

Jesus spoke often and forcefully about money and earthly treasures. He warned clearly about the danger of allowing such material things, or even just the lust for them, to be a spiritual hindrance. And during His earthly ministry, He sometimes used parables to illustrate and drive home His points on the matter.

In Luke 12 the Lord told of a rich man who was not satisfied, despite being quite well off. His preoccupation with building up his own kingdom eventually collapsed when his life suddenly ended. His flawed philosophy and his miserable downfall are described beginning in verse 18. “So he said, 'I will do this: I will pull down my barns and build greater, and there I will store all my crops and my goods. And I will say to my soul, "Soul, you have many goods laid up for many years; take your ease; eat, drink, and be merry."' But God said to him, 'Fool! This night your soul will be required of you; then whose will those things be which you have provided?' "So is he who lays up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God." (Luke 12:18-21)

Then in Mark 10 the Lord spoke about another man who as also well off materially speaking. He is known in most Bible circles as simply “The Rich Young Ruler”. He had sought out Jesus to supposedly inquire how he might gain eternal life. Ironically, he was already quite confident that his overall outward lifestyle would earn him God’s approval. But to his utter shock and dismay, the Lord looked into his heart and honed in on his major flaw – a total preoccupation with material wealth and possessions. The bad ending to their brief meeting is recorded in verses 21-22. “Jesus said to him, "If you want to be perfect, go, sell what you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me." But when the young man heard that saying, he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.” It is beyond tragic when anyone allows the things of this temporal life to rob them of the glory of eternal life in heaven!

The all-knowing Creator God has warned repeatedly, and in no uncertain terms, about the destructive dangers of making this world's so-called 'treasures' life’s top concern. And His great wisdom on the subject is nowhere summed up better than through His Son’s precise and profound words - words not requiring a high IQ or some theological degree to grasp.

"Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal; but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” (Matthew 6:19-21)

Bill Breckenridge

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