The true worth of one’s actions

There was a headline in the Bangalore edition of The Indian Express (September 9, 1983) which read: GLITTER IS NOT GOLD.

The story was about

a Miss Sybil D’Silva, who lives in Artillery Road, Bangalore. She was visited in her home by a woman aged about 35. She told Miss D’Silva that her husband was seriously ill, and that she needed 5000 rupees urgently for his treatment. “I am not begging from you,” she said, taking a golden necklace out of her pocket. “All I want to do is sell this golden necklace for just 5000.”

Miss D’Siva said she was not interested, but the woman kept pleading the desperateness of her case. Eventually she persuaded Miss D’Silva to give her the money and buy the necklace.

Next day Miss D’Silva took the necklace to a goldsmith on Bangalore’s Commercial Street.

He tested it on his touchstone. After examination, its reality came to light. Telling her story to the Bangalore police, Miss D’Silva said: “He told me it was brass.”

So it will be in the next world. In this world, everyone is delighted with his deeds; everyone thinks of what he has done as gold. But gold is only real when it is shown to be such on the goldsmith’s touchstone. In the next world, God will judge everybody’s actions on His own touchstone.

The value of gold will only be attached to those actions which are proved to be made of gold when put on God’s touchstone. If one’s golden actions turn out to be made of brass, then they will only mean disgrace and doom. They will disown that which was dearest to them in the world. But on that day, there will be no disownment. That which they were proud of in the world will cause them only disgrace and humiliation when they come before God.

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