Treasure

I went to antique auction tonight.  I have a friend who auctions/rings for Luther Auctions in North Saint Paul, and I wanted to see what it was all about.  

I sat there for three and a half hours, watching them sell random item after random item.  Everything from a beautifully hand carved grand piano to the emerald and diamond ring and earring set to the Gone with the Wind lamp to the mug shaped like Rip Vanwinkle's face.  

What do all of these things have in common?  They were all precious to someone at one point in time.  Antique and estate auctions are the ultimate showcase for the phrase, "one person's treasure is another person's junk."  Let's be honest, people store up these collectables or treasures, if you will, all of their lives, and then they die and their children sell them.  Really, who wants to take on their parent's collection of face-shaped mugs?  We can travel the world and pick up rare and seemingly beautiful treasures and in the end we have nothing to show for it, because we can't take it with us when we go.

It's like that old joke:

There once was a rich man who was near death. He was very grieved because he had worked so hard for his money and he wanted to be able to take it with him to heaven. So he began to pray that he might be able to take some of his wealth with him.

An angel hears his plea and appears to him. "Sorry, but you can't take your wealth with you." The man implores the angel to speak to God to see if He might bend the rules.

The man continues to pray that his wealth could follow him. The angel reappears and informs the man that God has decided to allow him to take one suitcase with him. Overjoyed, the man gathers his largest suitcase and fills it with pure gold bars and places it beside his bed.

Soon afterward the man dies and shows up at the Gates of Heaven to greet St. Peter. St. Peter seeing the suitcase says, "Hold on, you can't bring that in here!"

But, the man explains to St. Peter that he has permission and asks him to verify his story with the Lord. Sure enough, St. Peter checks and comes back saying, "You're right. You are allowed one carry-on bag, but I'm supposed to check its contents before letting it through."

St. Peter opens the suitcase to inspect the worldly items that the man found too precious to leave behind and exclaims, "You brought pavement?!!!"

Yes, I did just post a joke on my blog.  As if blogging didn't make me geeky enough.  I'm over it.

"Don't store up treasures here on earth, where moths eat them and rust destroys them, and where thieves break in and steal. Store you treasures in heaven, where moths and rust cannot destroy, and thieves do not break in and steal.  Wherever your treasure is, there the desires of your heart will also be." 

Matthew 6:19-21