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Gold, Silver...

            In a large house there are articles not only of gold and silver, but also of wood and clay; some are for special purposes and some for common use.  Those who cleanse themselves from the latter will be instruments for special purposes, made holy, useful to the Master and prepared to do any good work. (II Timothy 2:20-21)

          Articles of gold, silver, wood, or clay. What are they? Articles for special purposes and common uses? What are they? For some reason, I seem to have considered them to be people. Some people are gold and silver. They include the apostles and great Christians who win lots of people to Christ. While other people are wood, clay, and straw (I tend to add that one) and no matter what they do, they just don’t live up to the standards of those gold and silver folks. And, woe is me, I’m see myself in the wood, clay, or straw category.

          But the passage tells us that if we cleanse ourselves from the latter, that we will become the former. So, if I kick all the losers out of my life and only hang with the gold and silver folks, I’ll become gold or silver? Somehow, I think my thinking isn’t right here. If nothing else, how do I kick myself to the curb?

There are other verses that I suspect shed light on the subject, such as:

“I have the right to do anything,” you say—but not everything is beneficial. “I have the right to do anything”—but I will not be mastered by anything. (I Corinthians 6:12)

          We aren’t the gold, silver, wood, clay, or straw. Things we do are. We can claim that we have the right to do anything we want to, but as Paul tells us, not everything is useful, and the things we do tend to master us. If we do gold and silver, we are more likely to do gold and silver. If we do wood, clay, or straw, we’re likely to continue down the path from wood to straw.

          As we think about the things about which we say, “I have the right!” it may well be that we have the right, but if those things produce increased godlessness, spread like gangrene, involve departure from the truth, or destroy our faith or someone else’s, what good are they? Do we really want them to be our legacy?

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