Daily Devotional for January 13, 2023
Gold, Diamonds, and Pearls
Jasmine and Kayla rummaged through a large jewelry box as they helped their grandmother sort things in preparation for a garage sale. “Look at this pretty necklace!” Jasmine exclaimed. “Is it real gold, Grandma?”
Grandma rubbed her thumb gently over the shiny metal. Then she peered at her thumb. “No, honey,” Grandma said. “This is just cheap jewelry.”
“How do you know?” asked Kayla. “It looks like gold.”
Grandma held out her hand. “See the black that rubbed off on my thumb? Real gold wouldn’t tarnish like this.”
“Is this a diamond ring?” Kayla asked.
Grandma took the ring and inspected it. “Well, I’m not really sure about this one. It’s probably only cut glass, but I guess it could be a diamond.”
“Then you should keep it,” said Jasmine.
“Yeah,” said Kayla. “You can’t sell it at a garage sale if it might be a real diamond.”
“We’ll visit the jewelry store and have some of these checked,” said Grandma. “Then we’ll know for sure what’s good and what isn’t—what we should keep and what we should sell.”
Later that day, they made the trip to the jeweler. The girls and Grandma were delighted to learn that several of the pieces were actually fairly valuable—including the ring, which was a small diamond.
“I’m so glad you had these checked,” said Kayla. “Otherwise we might have thrown out the good stuff and kept the fake.”
“Sometimes telling the good from an imitation is difficult,” Grandma said. “That’s true in other areas of life too. For example, things that are wrong can look and sound pretty good. That’s why the Bible tells us to test everything and hold on to what’s good, but to stay away from what is evil. Since Jesus has freed us from sin, evil goes against who we are and has no place in our lives, so we need to trust Him to help us use the truth of His Word to guard ourselves against Satan’s lies.”
Grandma took two pearl necklaces from her jewelry box. “I want you girls to have these as your ‘pearls of wisdom.’ Let them remind you to test the key areas of your life—what you do and what you believe—using the wisdom of God’s Word. Hold on to the good and toss out the evil imitations.”
-Brenda Decker
How about you?
Do you have trouble knowing what is good and what isn’t? Do your choices agree with what God says in His Word or are they motivated by the people around you? Test everything against the truth of the Bible, and trust God to give you wisdom as you apply what it says to your life. Hold on to what is good and true, and let go of everything else.
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