Why has humankind been so fascinated with
this shiny, rare metal from the earth? Why
have many destroyed their own lives and the lives of others by seeking after
this illusive provider of wealth?
Mankind has used this metal for artistic
purposes, for jewelry, for a means of currency and trade for centuries. Even the Bible mentions gold often. In the very first book, Genesis, the soon to
be nation of Israel formed for themselves a golden calf to worship as their God! According to the Bible, King Solomon ruled almost
3,000 years ago. But the stories of his
wealth are even today unbelievable. It
is said that he received some 25 tons of gold for each of the years of his
rulership. At today’s standard that
would have been worth billions of dollars!
In 1849, gold was discovered in the United
States in the State of California. Some
300,000 individuals left their livelihood, their homes, and their families for the
hills of California. They literally gave
everything in hopes of making their fortune with this newly found opportunity. These
individuals had no law to govern their actions and the many atrocities that
were committed against the people already on the land became grievous.
You might think that many people became
wealthy by their adventures during the mining years. However, very few were able to actually find
the precious metal and those who did were often not able to keep it very
long. Life in a mining boom town was
very difficult and VERY expensive! There were also many ways to lose the
so-call profits that were gained: alcohol, brothels and gambling just to name a
few of the chief enticements. Believe it
or not the ones who really made a fortune during these times were not the
miners, but the merchants, the ones selling the items that the miners needed in
search of their fortunes. And so, arose
the old adage: “During a gold rush, sell shovels!”
Sadly, there were some who became so desperate
to find their fortunes that they were victims of the saying: “Everything that
glitters is not gold!” They worked hard
and spent their money on supplies and equipment only to unearth iron
pyrite. This is a shiny mineral composed
of iron disulfide. It looks somewhat
like real gold, so it came to be called fool’s gold. Fool’s gold was often found during the gold
rush of the 1840s in the United States.
However, unlike the real thing, fool’s gold is a relatively worthless
commodity because of its natural abundance and lack of industrial utility. Their lives were ruined!
Many are the ventures we seek in our lives
today. It may be something that appears
to be advantageous, but in the finally it is useless! It may be that we lose our finances, our
families, our health, and perhaps even our lives in seeking after such things.
It may be that many others are reaching
out for these “get rich” opportunities and we feel that we must “get on the band
wagon” before our opportunity is lost.
It may appear at the moment to be the “gold at the end of the rainbow”
and we may never be in this position again.
But do not forget, that “everything that glitters is not gold.” We may be chasing after our fool’s gold (iron
pyrite) and wind up in the end broken, damaged, or even lifeless. We may lose money, health, family, and our
life for something that is worthless.
The main problem when considering all this is: we’re only human!
QUOTE TO CONSIDER
THOUGHTFUL GEM
"Often, when you run out of gold,
you run out of friends."
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