Fool's Gold

READ: PSALM 19:7-11; 2 TIMOTHY 3:16-17; HEBREWS 4:12

Martin Frobisher, an English explorer, once discovered a huge hoard of gold on Baffin Island in Canada. He sent three ships, carrying 160 tons of gold-containing ore, back to Queen Elizabeth I in England. Unfortunately, the ore contained nothing more than a pile of yellow mica or iron pyrite—otherwise known as fool’s gold.

Fool’s gold looks exactly like the real thing. But it’s completely worthless. So how on earth can you tell the difference? Fool’s gold sometimes has sharp edges which glisten when caught by sunlight, so it glitters when you turn it in your hand. This explains why it’s often mistaken for treasure. But real gold doesn’t need to be at just the right angle to shine.

Gold is a soft metal. It is malleable and will bend when a small amount of force is applied to it. Fool’s gold is generally hard and brittle. It will shatter if you pound it. Real gold rarely shatters. If you drop a piece of real gold into some nitric acid, it will remain completely unaffected. Fool’s gold will dissolve.

But perhaps the best way to learn how to distinguish the genuine from the counterfeit is to get your hands on the real thing. Once you’ve handled real gold, you’re much less likely to be fooled. The same principle applies with money: bankers are trained to spot fake currency by consistently handling real currency.

If you consistently handle God’s Word—pressing in to relationship with Jesus, the one the Bible is all about—you’re far less likely to fall for the devil’s lies. As you become more and more familiar with the truth, you’ll get better and better at sniffing out the counterfeit. All the glittering lies and false equations we encounter are worthless. They’re no match for the power, beauty, and goodness of the truth. And, thanks be to God, He graciously reveals the truth to us in His Word. • Angela Jelf

• The whole Bible is about Jesus, the one who died and rose again to save us from sin and death. Why is it important to read the Bible through the lens of the gospel? (Find out more on our "Know Jesus" page.)

• If we’ve put our trust in Jesus, we know God personally and His Holy Spirit lives in us. The Spirit teaches us, helping us understand God’s Word in ways we couldn’t otherwise (John 14:23-31; 16:12-14; 1 Corinthians 2:14; 1 John 2:20-27). And He does this for every believer! As we study the Bible, why is it important to talk to God and trusted Christians about what we read?

Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life.” John 14:6 (NIV)