Dear reader: Below is an expansion of Jesus’ Parable of the Treasure in the Field and the Introduction to a short book I wrote some years ago titled, Forever Rich: Seven Spiritual Secrets to Ultimate Financial Fulfillment. If you enjoy the Introduction, the eight chapters that follow it can be read for free here: https://www.davidservant.com/books/forever-rich-book/. I hope you enjoy them all! — David
A man is walking across a neighbor’s field early one morning when something poking through the soil—perhaps exposed from last night’s rain shower—catches his attention. He stops. With the aid of his staff, he digs around it to uncover an old, metal chest. Wrenching the lid open, he discovers thousands of gold coins. It’s a treasure buried long ago, perhaps by a prince or king who was fleeing from a foreign army.
He thinks to himself, “If I owned this field, I would own this treasure.” So, he quickly covers the chest and makes his way to the home of the field’s owner.
“Good morning, my old friend Tobiah! I was just walking through your field and I was thinking to myself what a nice field it is. Have you ever considered selling it?”
“No, my friend, Yitzhak, it’s not for sale, and I have never thought of selling it. It was an inheritance from my father, and that field helps me feed my eleven children.”
“Well, yes, of course brother Tobiah. But what if someone was to pay you a very good price for your field…say twice the going rate per acre? Could that motivate you to sell it?”
Tobiah perceives that he has a highly-motivated buyer on the hook. “Well, my dear friend, Yitzhak, I’m afraid twice the going rate would not be quite enough. For me to be motivated to sell that field, well, it would take quite an offer. That field has been in our family for generations.”
“Then how about three times the going rate per acre?”
Tobiah almost swallows his Adam’s apple as he tries to keep his exuberance hidden. “Hmmm, that is a pretty persuasive offer.” He momentarily wonders why Yitzhak is so motivated to buy his field, but the thought of selling it for three times its value overpowers his concern. He knows that if he sells his field at that price, he can immediately buy another field three times its size. Tobiah looks at Yitzhak’s hopeful face and inwardly debates if he should risk demanding even more.
“I’ll tell you what I’ll do. I don’t really want to sell it, but, because you’re a friend and neighbor, I think I could let it go to you for four times the going rate. But that is my lowest price. My wife was just saying the other day how much she loves that field. I’m going to have to answer to her if I sell it.”
Yitzhak grabs Tobiah’s hand and shakes it vigorously. “Then we’ve got a deal!” Tobiah watches incredulously as Yitzhak briskly walks away. “What a fool!” he thinks to himself. Meanwhile, Yitzhak inwardly shouts, “What a wise man am I!”
When Yitzhak arrives home, he tells his wife the good news. They immediately begin to liquidate everything they own in order to raise the cash needed to buy Tobiah’s field. In a few weeks, everything is gone. Their home, field, barn, cows, horses, furniture, and tools have all been sold to neighbors—who have all been talking about Yitzhak’s foolishness behind his back.
Finally, the day of the sale arrives. Yitzhak buys Tobiah’s field for his exorbitant price and holds the deed in his hand. The hidden treasure now belongs to him. He’s suddenly wealthier than he ever dreamed of being. The “fool” is no fool at all. He paid just a fraction of the field’s true worth.
Here’s how Jesus told the story:
The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure hidden in the field, which a man found and hid; and from joy over it he goes and sells all that he has, and buys that field” (Matt. 13:44(.
Clearly, Jesus was not trying to teach us that the kingdom could be gained without cost. The very essence of following Christ is self-denial—but self-denial with a view to a reward, something that Jesus Himself exemplified (Heb. 12:2). He who endured the cross for the joy set before Him told His followers that they would save their lives by losing them for His and the gospel’s sake (Mark 8:35). Eternal gains are ours through temporary loss. And the kingdom of heaven is like a treasure so valuable that it is worth giving up everything to gain it.
Of course, the general self-denial required of those who will inherit God’s kingdom (as illustrated in Jesus’ Parable of the Hidden Treasure) is expressed through consistent daily acts of self-denial, and it is those consistent acts that will be proportionately rewarded. This is certainly true concerning any monetary sacrifice that we make, as Jesus said at another time:
Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in or steal; for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also (Matt. 6:19-21).
We have the alternative of laying up our treasures on earth—where we will inevitably forfeit them before or at our death—or in heaven, where they will never be lost. We are faced with the same decision as the man who discovered the hidden treasure in his neighbor’s field, and it is similarly a “no-brainer.”
The Wisest Investment
Although mothballs, rust-resistant paints and home security systems might help modern followers of Christ counteract the work of moths, rust and thieves, the timeless wisdom of Jesus’ words stands. Modern wealth evaporates all the time through inflation, bad investments and obsolescence. Storing up treasure in heaven is the wisest investment anyone can make for several reasons, one of which is that it eliminates all risk of loss. As martyred missionary Jim Elliot so wisely wrote, “He is no fool who gives up what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose.” And that is what this little book is all about—becoming forever rich.
Forever goes beyond death, which is something far too few of us think about. Financial planners often consider the grave to be life’s terminal point, but that is the ultimate grave error. According to Jesus, we can and should plan for our financial future beyond this life. In light of the fact that our earthly sojourn is but a blink in eternity, we are wise to be more focused on the next life, on forever.
Imagine that you were given a million dollars, concerning which your benefactor only made one requirement: With that money, you must purchase two houses, one in which you must live for a day, and the other in which you must live for the rest of your life.
If you spent $990,000 on the one-day house, very few people who knew of your decision would be seeking your investment advice. In fact, if you spent $500,000 on each home, most observers would be shaking their heads. A wise person would spend as little as possible on his one-day house. He might consider living in a doghouse for a day! That way, he could enjoy the nicest possible house for the remaining years of his life.
True Riches
The path to being forever rich begins in this life, and the benefits begin here as well. You don’t have to wait until heaven to start enjoying all of the blessings. But we must begin to look at wealth from Jesus’ perspective, a perspective that runs counter to the world’s wisdom. He often sees poverty in what most consider wealth, and wealth in what most consider poverty. He once told a church full of materially rich people that they were poor (see Rev. 3:17). That is, they were spiritually and eternally poor. Yet Jesus told another church of impoverished people that they were rich (see Rev. 2:9).
Jesus’ perspective is often radically different than ours, isn’t it? He looks at things from an eternal perspective.
All of this is to say that, when we measure wealth only by earthly money and possessions, we’re making a significant error, and we reveal an understanding that is a misunderstanding. Becoming forever rich requires a change of perspective, a renewing of our minds, and a re-appraisal of what we currently value.
This is a book that will guide you along the path to becoming truly rich, now and forever, all based on what Jesus taught. Think of it as a treasure map! Let’s get started.
