How are gold, silver, and precious stones typically found?
Gold, silver, and precious stones are typically not found lying outside the front door or by walking down the street. They are found by going up into rough country, often requiring hard work, prospecting, and digging, as with an old gold miner who worked hard for every ounce.
The teacher contrasts these valuable materials with wood, hay, and stubble. He asks whether you find gold, silver, or precious stones just outside your door or walking down the street, and answers no. Instead, you must usually go up into rough country to find such precious items, and it takes hard work. He recalls meeting an old gold miner in the Rocky Mountains who lived alone and worked hard for every ounce of gold he dug out. The same is true for silver and precious stones—they don't come easy. By contrast, wood, hay, and stubble are everywhere, and most Christians build with them because they are too lazy to go out and work for the hard-to-get materials. This illustrates building on the foundation of Christ with either costly, hard-won materials or cheap, abundant ones, and it relates to every man's work being made manifest for reward, not salvation.