The Purity of Gold

     One of the most sought after treasures is gold. Throughout history almost every culture has used gold to symbolize power, purity and wealth. Many made the things they valued most - crowns, religious items, and coins out of the metal, and we continue to value those items today.

     Pure gold is known as 24 karat gold and is most often marked "24K". An alloy is usually added to gold because it is too soft to stand up to the stress of being worn daily as a ring or necklace. Copper, silver and palladium are a few of the alloys that may be added. If an item contains 50% of an alloy it would be marked as "12K" gold, 75% would be "18K".  Other common karat marks are "10K" and "14K", with some older jewelry marked "9K".  As the amount of gold compared to alloy used in an item goes down, so does the value. European jewelry is often marked according to parts of gold per 1000, with 18K gold being marked 750, 14K gold 585, and 10K gold 416. These purity marks can help you determine real treasure from something that is only gold plated. "All that glitters is not gold!"

   

14K yellow gold wedding band - engraved "51", this ring has stood the test of time without tarnishing! 

     As the purity of gold goes up in content so does value. In the same way, the content of our thoughts - which lead to our actions - will go up in value depending on their purity.

     "Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy - meditate on these things." 

Philippians 4:8

     It is easy each day to add more and more "alloy" to our thought process. Anger, bitterness, unforgiving and judgmental thoughts creep in continually. What may have started as a "24K" attitude early in the morning can quickly become "9K" before the day is over. How do we maintain high quality in our thoughts and actions?

     Paul told the Philippians to meditate on things that were true, noble, just, pure, lovely - things of a good report, containing virtue -things that were praiseworthy. Thoughts with value. Thoughts worth thinking.

     There are a good many things in this world that are beyond our ability to change. However, through the Holy Spirit, we can stop dwelling on what makes us lose hope and remember the abundant life we have in Jesus Christ. 

  

     We can be thankful...

     We can praise God...

     We can trust that God has the very best plan for us...

     Because His Word, and the valuable instruction for life we find there, is pure "24K" gold!