Brian Castner has written an excellent book called Stampede: Gold Fever and Disaster in the Klondike. In it, he chronicles the history of the gold rush to Alaska that occurred at the turn of 20th Century. There had been an economic depression in the 1890s that was just starting to lift around the time reports came out of the Klondike that people were striking it rich way up north. Castner tells of disease, death, and dismemberment from typhoid fever, violence in cities like Skagway and Dawson City and on White Pass and Chilkoot Trails, avalanches, exposure, starvation, and drownings in the white water rapids of Lake Bennett. They called it “gold fever” because men (and women) with no experience with the elements and no real plan threw all caution and common sense to the wind in order to strike it rich. The overwhelming majority of them wound up broke and broken.
Peter told a new Christian, “May your silver perish with you” (Acts 8:20). You may remember that Simon the sorcerer was a big shot in Samaria before the traveling missionary, Philip, came to town with the transforming message of Christ. The gospel turned the heads of men and women, including Simon (12-13). Peter and John come from Jerusalem to impart the miraculous gifts of the Spirit on the new Christians, and Simon was tempted by his past when he saw this (18-19). Did he see this power as a cash cow or a way to build his already renowned reputation as “someone great” (9-10). Part of his sin was the abuse of his money.
There is more than one way that our “silver” may “perish” with us.
- Loving it (1 Tim. 6:10).
- Making it the stuff life is made of (Luke 12:15).
- Storing it up for ourselves and not being rich toward God (Luke 12:21; Mat. 6:19-21).
- Making it an idol (Psalm 115:4).
- Being greedy (Col. 3:5).
- Trying to find satisfaction by it (Ecc. 5:10).
- Letting it motivate us to do wrong (Amos 2:8; Mic. 3:11; Mat. 26:14ff).
- Choosing it over wisdom (Prov. 16:16).
It is said several ways, but God is trying to ensure our spiritual survival. He knows that wealth can become our god when it drives us or becomes our central purpose. He knows that not only is that futile and unsatisfying, but He also knows how destructive such desire is for the other people in the lives of those who are suffering from “gold fever.” Paul describes it vividly, saying, “But those who want to get rich fall into temptation and a snare and many foolish and harmful desires which plunge men into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all sorts of evil, and some by longing for it have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs” (1 Tim. 6:9-10). Let’s not perish with our silver or with an unholy pursuit of it!
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