Gold is in the top ten ranking for most precious metals in the world. It is the most desirable of the top ten globally, because of its beauty, trading value, illustrious color, prestige, and symbol of power in every society. It is also versatile because it is malleable and can be molded into things such as jewelry, decorative items, art, coins, coating items, sculptures, the list is endless. It can also be used as a conductor of electricity and does not oxidize or tarnish. It also held the prestigious position of the ‘gold standard’ for over one hundred years, 1870 to the 1970’s which meant that the paper currency was backed by the gold which a country had. Though it is no longer the standard, it is still accepted as a form of currency and an international form of payment by all nations. Though there are certain places with more concentrations of gold such as Russia, South Africa, Australia, and the United States, it can be found around the globe.
Panning for gold in the United States has a long history dating back to 1848 to 1852 during the California gold rush in Sierra, Nevada and along the Northern California goldfields. However, gold has been used for centuries, dating as far back as 4000 B.C. We know it was extensively spoken of and used during biblical times and is written of in innumerable historical accounts as well. Egypt benefitted from it greatly and used it to fashion their idols. In California, John Sutter’s carpenter James W. Marshall found a few gold flakes one day by chance while building their sawmill. Though they vowed to keep this their secret, the word got out quickly. Ultimately the gold rush grew to over 300,000 fortune seekers. The quest for wealth and status brought prospectors in by the droves, from thousands of miles away, through dangerous conditions. However, many of those who did make the voyage, died from mining accidents, diseases, or murder during those few years. The days were long and the work arduous. Squatting at the water with a pan, scooping and sifting sand all day in the sun is no easy task, and the same goes for working in a dark mine wielding a pick or hammer all day. The prospect of eventually finding something valuable probably played a part in keeping the gold seekers going.
Samuel Brannan is known as the first millionaire recorded west of the Mississippi, during the gold rush in California. However, he was not a prospector. He had arrived in California a year before the rush began. He made his fortune capitalizing on the needs of the miners. He was a journalist and newspaperman, with connections and one of the first to publicize the gold rush. He was a store owner who beat out the shops around him, then increased his prices after the miners had no choice but to shop at his establishments for their necessities. Though not all ethical, very entrepreneurial. One example of his dealings was that he could buy mining pans for $.20 and sell them for $15.00 each. One might say that was highway robbery, but how would a person pan for gold without a pan? Moreover, they had to eat and purchase other supplies as well. Within a year, he had become a millionaire. He invested his money in many things including a resort and spa within the Napa Valley and he founded the Napa Valley railroad. Sad to say, as often happens, his wealth was his making and breaking, and he died a pauper because of his own philandering.
Another example of someone who gained their wealth during the gold rush years is George Hearst. Though he was lured to California in 1850 because of the gold rush, he mined first quartz and later silver, which did extremely well in building over a third of his personal fortune. He became very wealthy and had accumulated 19 million dollars at his death in 1891 at age 71. He also served two terms on the US senate. If anyone reading this has ever worn a pair of Levi blue jeans, you might recognize yet another name, Levi Strauss. He emigrated to San Francisco during the gold rush years not as a gold seeker, but as a dry goods wholesaler. Levi Strauss & Co. formed a partnership with Jacob Davis a local tailor in 1873, who was a customer of his and had bought denim material from him many times. They received their first patent on May 20th,1873, for putting rivets into men’s work pants at the points of strain, to make them last longer. This was the birth of Levi blue jeans. Levi being the businessman and Davis was the creator. During the gold rush it is said they could not make overhauls fast enough for the demand of the miners. This was 148 years ago, and they are still on the market today.
Many who already had prominent and successful careers left their businesses and went west, drawn by the gold rush. Amongst them was Daniel Knower a physician from New Albany, New York, Sir Henry Veel Hutley a British naval officer and colonial administrator, Linville John Hall a printer from Hartford, Connecticut, and Samuel McNeill a shoemaker from Lancaster, Ohio, just to name a few. French, Portuguese, Swiss, British, Germans and many other countries were also represented. If not looking to make a fortune they were curious enough to want to have firsthand knowledge of what was happening in California. Their journeys were not easy, quick or without hardships. They did not live in the world of transportation that we do today. Yet they somehow felt compelled to go West.
So, the question is posed, what if it doesn’t pan out? This expression originates right here with the gold prospectors. What would they do if they failed and what do we do if our hopes and dreams do not turn out as we had imagined they would or thought they should? Let me ask another question. If you bake a cake and it falls flat or breaks apart, do you give up cooking? If you get your long-awaited dream job and you do not succeed or climb the ladder as you had hoped, do you quit working? Disappointments are unfortunately a part of everyone’s lives. We must keep going forward. Though it seems cliché, we must follow this motto, “if at first you don’t succeed, try, try again” if we are to live a life of contentment. We must control our lives and not be controlled by our circumstances. 1 Timothy 6:6 tells us, “But godliness with contentment is great gain.” Does this scripture alone mean there is always food on the table? Not necessarily but having contentment in all things gives us the confidence that God is going to be there for us and lead us in the right direction. Philippians 4:11-13 Paul tells the saints, “…I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content. I know both how to be abased, and I know how to abound: everywhere and in all things, I am instructed both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need. I can do all things through Christ which strengthens me.”
Jesus told a follower in Luke 9:62, “And Jesus said unto him, no man, having put his hand to the plough, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.” We must have stick-to-itiveness, then if things do end badly, it is not because we did not put forth the effort. Why would a gold seeker travel miles to the gold rush through many adversities and refuse to take a pan down to the river to pan for gold? That man will never know if he would have struck it big or not, because he did not try. Matthew 10:22, “And ye shall be hated of all men for my name’s sake: but he that endures to the end shall be saved.” This verse adds two additional nuances to the equation. The most obvious one that would stand out to most people is the endurance. 2 Timothy 2:3 echo this thought, “Thou therefore endure hardness, as a good soldier of Jesus Christ.” But the prior verse starts out by saying, “Ye shall be hated of all men for my name’s sake.” There are going to be hardships and trials. Things, whether in the Christian walk, in a job situation or in our relationships, may become scary, disheartening and very burdensome, but we must press on.
Philippians 3:13-14 states, “Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.” You cannot be moving forward while you are looking backward. You must forget the past and stop trying to change it. God has a purpose for you in the present. The past cannot be changed and living in the what ifs, will not budge it at all. The ribbon and the prize are ahead of you, at the end of the race, not behind you. Press on. None of us have made it to the end yet. If it’s not panning out. Lay down the pan and rest a while, but don’t abandon the pan. Come back tomorrow and see if any flakes of gold have come down the riverbed during the night or a nugget has been unearthed.
2 Timothy 4:7-8, “I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith: Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing.” It is going to be worth all the effort we put in. I have often told my children, “If you’re driving down the street and you see a beautifully manicured yard of a nicely kept store or a wonderfully sparkling pool that looks so inviting, it is because someone has put in some hard work to maintain it.” Things in life don’t just happen! Hard work is involved, but it will all be worth it when we receive the reward of our labor. This could be our paycheck, a wonderful swim in that pool or a relaxing time on the front porch of our beautiful home, or our heavenly prize that the Lord is reserving for us if we faint not. Galatians 6:9 tells us, “And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.” And Psalm 128:2 makes the statement, “For thou shalt eat the labor of thine hands: happy shalt thou be, and it shall be well with thee.” God is faithful. Don’t be discouraged, it looks like things are going to pan out after all.