Why do most Christians build with wood, hay, and stubble instead of gold, silver, and precious stones?
Most believers build with wood, hay, and stubble because those materials are common and require little effort, whereas gold, silver, and precious stones must be sought in rough country through hard work. Scripture presents these as rewards for those who have salvation and labor for reward, not for salvation itself.
Les explains that gold, silver, and precious stones are not found just outside the front door or by walking down the street. They are found up in the rough country, and it takes hard work to obtain them. He illustrates this with an old gold miner he and Iris met in the Rocky Mountains, a prospector who worked hard for every ounce of gold he dug out. Silver and precious stones are the same. By contrast, wood, hay, and stubble are everywhere. Most Christians build with those because they are too lazy to get up and go out and work for those hard-to-get materials. Christ must be the foundation, and faith in His finished work comes before anyone can add to His building. Verse 13 says every man's work shall be made manifest—not the person working for salvation, but the one who has salvation and is now working for reward.