Value for Dirt

I was talking to a group of guys last night and we realized a very unpleasant truth; our strongest attachments as an “advanced” human race is to soil, dirt, trees and very common resources. Polished rocks and super-heated soil that insult the very pride we so complacently hold on to. It is amazing that for a generation so far advanced in cutting edge technology so much so that we can remotely control orbiting stations millions of miles away from the earth, we still hold on to the strong affection for non-renewable soil and dirt like gold and oil and go so far as to be willing to kill for them.

Jesus knew how very unnecessary this was to the contributions we ought to make to this world.

"Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. 20 But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” Matthew 6:19-21 - NIV

Our hearts are where our treasures are. So if we are holding on to the treasures of this world which are fundamentally the very dirt we walk on every day, aren’t our hearts attached to dirt and aren’t our souls being stained by dirt? Talk about filthy rags. What we could kill for is in fact the very dirt we walk on. We are insulting who we are.

And it doesn’t end there. We fall in love with processed trees as papers when we love money, we fall in love with metals and plastic when we love cars and architecture. And more papers in bonds, certificates, contracts and more processed junk. In some parts of the world, oil is in fact cheaper than water and yet wars have sparked and lives defined, altered and ruined because of this cheap dirt. Our attachments have become strong for the things that corrode and perish.

 “Now listen, you rich people, weep and wail because of the misery that is coming upon you.  Your wealth has rotted, and moths have eaten your clothes. Your gold and silver are corroded. Their corrosion will testify against you and eat your flesh like fire. You have hoarded wealth in the last days. Look! The wages you failed to pay the workmen who mowed your fields are crying out against you. The cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord Almighty. You have lived on earth in luxury and self-indulgence. You have fattened yourselves in the day of slaughter. You have condemned and murdered innocent men, who were not opposing you.” James 5:1-6 - NIV

 “If any man builds on this foundation using gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay or straw, 13 his work will be shown for what it is, because the Day will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each man's work. “1 Corinthians 3:12-14 – NIV

Perhaps the reason we hold on so dearly to the dirt of this world is that we are dust ourselves and without the breath of God that adds all the value to our beings, we are in fact more worthless than the soil we so love and cherish.

So instead of holding so dearly to the things that easily perish, let us really cherish and pursue the things that really matter; a relationship with God and enjoying life with those that matter to us. We have to understand that money is just a means to an end and not the meaning of life itself. The Israelite king, Solomon after all the splendor of his wealth repeated in word the value of life’s supposed riches; “MEANINGLESS”.

“Now all has been heard; here is the conclusion of the matter: Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole [duty] of man. For God will bring every deed into judgment, including every hidden thing, whether it is good or evil.” Eccl 12:13-14 - NIV