Articles
The Pot of Gold
As it turns out, the pot of gold is not at the end of a rainbow. It can be found in an armored truck in NYC in broad daylight. Back in September, an armored truck carrying a bucket of gold flakes was left unattended. A passerby saw the bucket and decided to steal it while the guards, Curly and Moe, weren’t paying attention. Off he went with his windfall.
There was, however, one little hitch. $1.6 million in gold flakes weighs 86 pounds, give or take a flake. Cameras show the weary thief lugging his pot of gold down Manhattan’s busy sidewalks. Given the number of cameras that clearly captured the caper, it’s only a matter of time before the criminal is cuffed.
Every so often real life presents a perfect spiritual analogy. Jesus offers rest to those “who labor and are heavy laden” under the burden of sin (Mt 11:28). Paul speaks of “gullible women loaded down with sins, led away captive by various lusts” (2 Tim 3:6). Sin often looks like a pot of gold, but indulging in it creates a burden hard to bear. “Whoever commits sin is a slave of sin” (Jn 8:34; cf. Rom 6:16).
But once committed, how hard it is to put the bucket down! We drag it around convinced that happiness will eventually come, that the guilt and shame and fear will eventually transform into pure unadulterated bliss. But it never turns out that way, does it? Sin is a burden that drags us down physically, emotionally and, especially, spiritually. It isn’t worth it. Let it go.
