Exodus 5:12 (CSB)
So the people scattered throughout the land of Egypt to gather stubble for straw.
Hey, Watch Out for the Stubble
Have you ever found yourself roaming through life, gathering up everything it has to offer only to discover that it’s merely stubble? This world we live in is full of stubble. It's the stuff that our culture tells us we should want like more money, fame, or pleasure at the expense of our spiritual well-being. Interestingly, from a distance the stubble is beautiful and looks fulfilling. But when you pick it up it’s empty, dried out, and worthless.
The Kingdom of God is filled with eternal treasure, based on a deep, rich relationship with Jesus through discovering our identity and purpose in Him. When the Bible talks about eternal rewards, it refers to them as treasures (Matthew 19:21; Luke 12:33). Look at how 1 Corinthians 3:10–15 describes the difference between living a life as a stubble-gatherer or Kingdom-investor.
1 Corinthians 3:11–15 (CSB)
For no one can lay any foundation other than what has been laid down. That foundation is Jesus Christ. If anyone builds on the foundation with gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay, or straw, each one’s work will become obvious. For the day will disclose it, because it will be revealed by fire; the fire will test the quality of each one’s work. If anyone’s work that he has built survives, he will receive a reward. If anyone’s work is burned up, he will experience loss, but he himself will be saved—but only as through fire.
The Beautiful Prison
Pause and consider this: Right now, in your current season of life, are you gathering stubble from the world, or are you investing in the eternal Kingdom of God? It's so easy to get caught up in gathering stubble.
The allure of stubble in this world can be captivating! It's like in Luke 15 when the Prodigal Son leaves his father's House of Plenty for the House of Bondage. You remember how the story goes, right? The young man gathers all his father's treasures of inheritance and takes them out, wasting them on the fleeting pleasures of this world. Then, when he was left empty, a famine struck, and he found himself feeding pigs, longing to fill his belly with the stubble of this world. Sometimes we do the same thing and trade the endless treasures of the Kingdom of God for the empty husks of this world.
The problem with this world's stubble is that it always leaves you longing for more. The world always has a generous offer that turns into a life of scarcity. The devil never has the intention of sustaining you; his intention is always to destroy you. Jesus said in John 10:10 (NLT), “The thief's purpose is to steal, kill, and destroy…” Everyone who has lived in the House of Bondage knows this to be true. Jesus goes on in John 10:10 and says, “My purpose is to give them a rich and satisfying life.”
When you live for yourself according to the world system, you will end up in the House of Bondage, where all your treasures turn to stubble. But in Kingdom Living you’re living in the House of Plenty. Here all your treasures become eternal rewards that only gain more value in time and eternity.
Location, Location, Location
No one intentionally sets out to live in the House of Bondage. Everyone who ends up there feels as though the world, the flesh, and the devil have played a cruel joke on them. God doesn't want you to live a life of gathering stubble; He has a wonderful Kingdom purpose for your life.
You will find the House of Plenty by reorienting the location of your heart. This happens when you seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness (Matthew 6:33). And when you focus on developing your disciplines of devotion, you will experience a deep and rich relationship with God, finding yourself living in the abundance of His rich and satisfying eternal life right here in this season of life. And this Kingdom treasure that you experience here and now will have eternal value.