The Gold Standard

As seen in the HEARTbeat and the Village Voice

The Gold Standard

            People who work in the financial sectors of our society can easily answer the following question, but not many of us common “Joes” know this:  Where did the Gold Standard originate and what is it?  Basically put, the Gold Standard was a system under which nearly all countries fixed the value of their currencies in terms of a specified amount of gold, or linked their currency to that of a country which did so while maintaining convertibility of their currency into gold at the fixed price and defending the exchange rate.  This will work only if the government owns all the gold!  Funny to say this (excuse the sarcasm), because on May 1, 1933 President Franklin Roosevelt issued Executive Order 1602 making it illegal to own gold coins, gold bullion, or gold certificates!  People had to turn in all they owned to the banks.

            If the Gold Standard is so great, why did the U.S. abandon the standard in 1971?  Up until that time, the government fixed the price at $35 an ounce.  President Richard Nixon announced the government would no longer convert dollars into gold, which effectively ended the Gold Standard in the U.S. in 1976.

If this is so, why do we still call the highest of standards the Gold Standard?  Kings of old would hoard gold, as it was the most precious of metals.  Historically, the athletes competing in the Olympic games would be awarded a gold medal for first place, denoting the most excellent of performances.  Gold jewelry continues to be the standard, and the purer the better.

How does God view the most precious of metals?  He must think highly of it since the Ark of the Covenant was wood covered in hammered gold.  He also instructed the high priests to wear a crown of gold when they ministered in the Most Holy Place in the Tent of Meeting.

All these instruments of worship were made with earth-found gold.  What would heavenly gold then look like?  John describes the streets of heaven as pure gold, yet clear as crystal.  Talk about pure!

God’s pure is definitely different from our measure of pure.  John tried to tell of the wonders of Heaven but did so in earthly language.  We have the words “pure love,” but they don’t come close to the type of love God has for His children.  Sometimes the things of God are just beyond our human comprehension.  This is why faith is so important.  Hebrews 11:1 says, “Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.”  It is in faith that we find the comfort and richness in God, and through which He provides for us.  “And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.”

God has set a Gold Standard for us, His children.  Through faith we get closer to Him daily.  And through the presence of the Holy Spirit we can see God’s gold standard for us as we strive to be more like His Son, our Savior, King Jesus!