Sleeping on a Treasure

It’s bizarre. It’s absurd. It’s pathetic. But it’s true. A compassionate daughter has cost her mother a million dollars. Instead of living "high on the hog," mom is really "down in the dumps"—literally!

In Israel, a daughter bought a new mattress for her aging mother so she could sleep better. The old one was put out on the street, and garbage men hauled it away. But mom revealed she had hidden her life savings in the old mattress. At last report, mother and daughter and some helpers were scavenging the city dumps hoping to retrieve the lost fortune.

In these days of devaluing currency, stashing money in a mattress may at least maintain its face value, but sleeping on one’s fortune seems a poor investment policy. A misguided relative is no match for a reliable bank.

Substituting mindless caution for active investment is a focus of divine censure.

Christ warned against investing in commodities subject to moths, rust or thieves (Matthew 6:19 & 20).

He scolded hoarders, illustrating His displeasure in the parable of the talents, or pounds, in Luke 19:13-25. His scorching critique of the non-investor servant who hid his master’s money reads, "‘Why then didn’t you put my money on deposit, so that when I came back, I could have collected it with interest?’" (verse 23). Jesus said the angry master took the servant’s paltry original gift away, and the better investor fell heir to the fearful man’s money, too.

The prodigal son in Luke 15:11-32 could have waited for his portion of his father’s wealthy farming endeavor, which probably was appreciating in value, but he chose to take it in immediate liquid cast assets. Without a spiritual investment strategy, he wasted it all to come home years later to work his brother’s farm. Instead of farmhouse feasts, he ended up wolfing down pig food.

An interesting Old Testament story in II Kings 6:24-7:20 tells of the result of refused divine riches in Samaria. Enemy Syrian incursions into disobedient Israel caused a tragic famine in the land that resulted in people scavenging for bird droppings and horse meat and, ultimately, cannibalization. People eat strange things when there is a spiritual famine. Diet shifts from the Bread and Water of Life to junk foods and worse.

Later sieges of Jerusalem brought similar dysfunction as we were told some years ago while visiting the Burnt House in Jerusalem. As our stomachs churned, our tour guide went through his wrenching, dismal description of cannibalism in the capitol in the time of siege.

In Samaria, as the prophet predicted, the siege ended on God’s schedule. Four lepers ransacked the abandoned Syrian camp. Considering their windfall, they said "‘We are not doing right. This day is a day of good news, and we remain silent. If we wait until morning light, some punishment will come upon us. Now therefore, come, let us go and tell the king’s household." (2 Kings 7:9).

A woman in Israel is picking through tons of garbage to recover her lost hoard. If we do not use our spiritual treasure to feed the spiritually hungry, we may lose it and find ourselves rummaging for lost treasure. It is not wise to sleep on a treasure. Isn’t this the spiritual exercise God outlines in Isaiah 58:6-9?

"Is this not the fast that I have chosen: To loose the bonds of wickedness, To undo the heavy burdens, To let the oppressed go free, And that you break every yoke? Is it not to share your bread with the hungry, And that you bring to your house the poor who are cast out; When you see the naked, that you cover him, And not hide yourself from your own flesh? Then your light shall break forth like the morning, Your healing shall spring forth speedily, And your righteousness shall go before you; The glory of the LORD shall be your rear guard. Then you shall call, and the LORD will answer; You shall cry, and He will say, ‘Here I am.’"

Dave Virkler