What do the gold, silver, and precious stones in 1 Corinthians 3 represent?
In 1 Corinthians 3, the gold, silver, and precious stones represent works that are rightly motivated, done with the whole motivation that God receive the glory rather than for oneself. They are contrasted with wood, hay, and stubble, which are ego-enhancing works. God evaluates the motivation behind what we do.
Les explains from 1 Corinthians 3:15 that if any man's work shall be burned, the gold, the silver, and the precious stones are the things that are rightly motivated. That motivation is both subconscious and conscious: the whole purpose is for God to receive the glory, not for me or for you. By contrast, Les warns that we are involved in many things that enhance the ego, and those will probably end up as nothing more than wood, hay, and stubble. He emphasizes that God looks at the motivation and asks why we do what we do. If we do it to be pleasing in God's eyes and to bring glory to Him, then it will be reckoned as gold, silver, and precious stones. Those things do not come easy when done for the Lord's glory. Les illustrates the Christian life as paddling a canoe up a roaring river; it is never easy and is a constant battle against Satan and the world's designs, but God has promised we can do it.
If any man’s work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire.