Why are gold, silver, and precious stones hard to obtain as building materials?
Gold, silver, and precious stones are hard to obtain because they are not found lying outside the front door or walking down the street; they must be sought in rough country and require hard work. Gold mining illustrates this, since every ounce is dug out with effort.
Les teaches that these materials picture what believers build on the foundation of Christ. He points out that gold, silver, and precious stones are not readily available: you do not find gold or silver just outside your front door, nor precious stones by walking down the street. They are usually found up in rough country, and it takes hard work. He recalls an old gold miner in the Rocky Mountains who worked hard for every ounce of gold he dug out, and says the same is true of silver and precious stones. By contrast, wood, hay, and stubble are everywhere. Les explains that most Christians build with wood, hay, and stubble because they are too lazy to get up and go out and work for the hard-to-get materials. The foundation must be Christ, and the passage concerns reward, not salvation.