The Treasure House

The Bible says in Proverbs 15:6, “In the house of the righteous is much treasure...." Listen to the words of Howard Carter when first peering into the treasure tomb of Tutankhamen after being hid from the public for millenniums, “As my eyes grew accustomed to the light, details of the room within emerged slowly from the mist, strange animals, statues, and gold - everywhere the glint of gold. For the moment - an eternity it must have seemed to the others standing by - I was struck dumb with amazement, and when Lord Carnarvon, unable to stand the suspense any longer, inquired anxiously, 'Can you see anything?' it was all I could do to get out the words, 'Yes, wonderful things.'" Throughout the years I have been blessed to see some beautiful sights. I have seen the Smokey Mountains covered with some of the greenest foliage in the world, kissed with rhododendrons and encircled by early morning fog that covered her peaks like ermine around the shoulders of royalty. I have seen the Grand Canyon with her four seasons in four different levels and colors that a master painter could not match on his finest palette. I have seen the oceans of our country. I am in awe of the power of the waves of the Atlantic as they crash on New England’s rocky shores. My breath has been taken away by the Hawaiian Pipe Line as the towering waves curl with precision upon themselves creating a foaming splendor resembling mounds of whipped cream billowing into the shoreline. I have seen the sugar sands of Florida being caressed by the more gentle blue/green waters of the Gulf of Mexico. Yet these sights pale when compared to the sight of a Christian home.

Have you observed what we value in America? Today the Washington Monument is surrounded by scaffolding and workers to preserve one of our most treasured landmarks after an earthquake did some damage to this edifice. Not far from there you will see a cherry tree-lined basin that accents two of our most valued monuments that honor two other presidents represented in the Lincoln and Jefferson Memorials. Yes, I have seen beautiful and valued sights in my life. But all the beauty that we could behold under our azure blue skies and purple mounted majesties and all the value that we could place on our monuments cannot compare to the treasures I have seen when I behold the Christian home. There is not enough wealth in Fort Knox or enough money housed in Swiss banks that can compare to the true value that God Himself has placed in the home where Jesus is Lord and God is feared. Beyond the beauties of the world’s geography or the wonder of King Tut’s treasures is the treasure found right in your home.

1. The Gold Foundation of Dad

The husband of the Song of Solomon is described thusly, “His head is as the most fine gold...His hands are as gold rings set with the beryl...His legs are as pillars of marble, set upon sockets of fine gold...” (Song 5:11-15). There is a comparison of a beloved husband and head of the home to gold. A godly man is indeed golden! His integrity is golden, his word is golden, his trustworthiness is golden and his testimony which reflects his love to God shines and shimmers like gold!

The Bible’s description of heaven says “...the street of the city was pure gold, as it were transparent glass” (Revelation 21:21). The foundation of the city of God is gold. In many ways the dad is the foundation of the home. The Bible says, “For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church: and he is the saviour of the body” (Ephesians 5:23). How we need dads to have the courage of a Joshua who said, “...as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD” (Joshua 24:15). A man who takes the initiative to lead his family in a godly direction, loves his wife unconditionally and is willing to lovingly discipline his children when they do wrong and praise them when they do right is a treasure!

Manhood requires a rite of passage that requires going through the crucible of testing. Did not our Lord say, “I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich...” (Revelation 3:18). A man will be tested morally. It is not until he passes this moral test that he can truly be called a man. “But he knoweth the way that I take: when he hath tried me, I shall come forth as gold” (Job 23:10). By the way, like the street of gold in heaven, a true man is transparent -- he has no hidden agendas, he doesn’t cheat.

2. The Priceless Ruby of Mom

Proverbs 31:10 inquires, “Who can find a virtuous woman? for her price is far above rubies.” A godly woman is even above the ruby in comparison; she is priceless. In our world there are many women, few great virtuous ladies. Solomon said, “As a jewel of gold in a swine’s snout, so is a fair woman which is without discretion” (Proverbs 11:22). A woman may be fair or lovely in appearance, but if she does not behave in a moral, upright manner, God likens her to a decorated pig. This is harsh; but it is biblical truth. A woman who may be plain outwardly can become actually more beautiful than other women by simply being holy and totally right with her Lord. The Bible says that a godly woman’s beauty is inward, “Whose adorning let it not be that outward adorning of plaiting the hair, and of wearing of gold, or of putting on of apparel; But let it be the hidden man of the heart, in that which is not corruptible, even the ornament of a meek and quiet spirit, which is in the sight of God of great price. For after this manner in the old time the holy women also, who trusted in God, adorned themselves, being in subjection unto their own husbands” (I Peter 3:3-5). We see the hidden man of the heart informs us that it is the inside which displays the unvarnished beauty. It has been said, “What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us.”

A mom who makes the decision to enforce righteousness in her children will bear the hardship of being unpopular with her kids, but is it the right thing to do. Far better to be a kid’s mom when they need parenting than to be their kid’s best friend. Friendship can come later. Proverbs tells us, “My son, hear the instruction of thy father, and forsake not the law of thy mother” (Proverbs 1:8). “My son, keep thy father’s commandment, and forsake not the law of thy mother” (Proverbs 6:20). Dad makes the rules, but Mom enforces them. A woman by nature adorns her home. She is the one who usually decides the color of the walls, the flooring, the fixtures and who occupies which rooms in the house. Most men could care less how the house is adorned. He doesn’t care if the living room sofa has two cushions, three cushions or no cushions. What a treasure is a woman who adorns her house with obedient children. This treasure called Mom not only nourishes her children’s physical diet, but sets the palate spiritually by doing her best to make sure her children do right. In the phrase found in Proverbs 22:6, “Train up a child in the way he should go..." we discover the Hebrew nuance of this phrase means, “to set the palate," which means in the same way a mother begins to stimulate the child to eat solid foods by placing her finger with the food she desires the child to consume into the child’s mouth and touching the palate until the child begins to chew, so also the mother is to help develop the child’s taste for the things of the Lord. His motto is “O taste and see that the LORD is good...” (Psalm 34:8). This mom is the treasure who is more precious than rubies!

3. The Crown Jewels of our Children

God likens His children to jewels, “And they shall be mine, saith the LORD of hosts, in that day when I make up my jewels; and I will spare them, as a man spareth his own son that serveth him” (Malachi 3:17). When my wife and I were in England we were able to see the Crown Jewels of her kings and queens. In reality our children that live in obedience to God become the crown jewels of the home. Our goal as parents is to so train our children that when they come to the time when they make their own decisions, they will decide for that which is right and pleases God. Proverbs 10:1 says, “A wise son maketh a glad father: but a foolish son is the heaviness of his mother.” One of our church members with grown children told me years ago, “Pastor, a parent is never happier than his most miserable child." It is true we should rejoice in the Lord always (Philippians 4:4), but it doesn’t mean that we rejoice when our kids do wrong. There is just enough uncomfortableness in the heart of a mom and dad that just doesn’t give up praying for that kid going in the wrong direction until they do right. Let me say to our children, whatever age you may be, please do right and be the crowning jewel that brings unspeakable joy to your parents and delight to our Lord. Nothing brings more joy and brings forth the treasures of a home than when children do right in their youth and stay right in their adulthood. “I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in truth” (III John,verse 4).

-Pastor Pope