The fear of the Lord is pure, enduring forever. The decrees of the Lord are firm, and all of them are righteous. They are more precious than gold, than much pure gold; they are sweeter than honey, than honey from the honeycomb. Psalm 19:9-10
“Last June at the mouth of the Congo there awaited a thousand prospectors, traders, merchants and gold seekers, waiting to rush into these regions as soon as the government opened the door to them, for rumour declared that there is an abundance of gold. If such men hear so loudly the call of gold and obey it, can it be that the ears of Christ’s soldiers are deaf to the call of God? Are gamblers for gold so many, and gamblers for God so few?”
C.T. Studd (1860-1931) in C.T. Studd: Cricketer and Pioneer by Norman Grubb (Cambridge: Lutterworth Press, 2014) 127.
C.T. Studd was a famous cricketer. Michael Blue, with whom I am traveling in Australia, mentioned this quote in his closing plenary. Aussies love their cricket. Blue challenged us with Studd to be “gamblers for God” and to give our lives in service to Him.
Our reverence or fear of God should change how we live, what we live for, and how we give from all we are and all we have. Regardless of the work we do, let us be people who do it all not for the hope of gaining earthly gold, but for Christ’s service and glory.
The paradox is that gamblers for God gain, and gamblers for gold lose. Remember Solomon? He could have aimed for wealth but instead wanted wisdom, and with wisdom the wealth came with it. Go after the decrees of God, which are precious than gold and the rest will fall into place.