What makes a work count as gold, silver, and precious stones before God?
A work counts as gold, silver, and precious stones when its motivation is right—when the whole purpose, conscious and subconscious, is for God to receive the glory rather than self. God looks at why we do what we do; deeds done to please Him and bring Him glory are reckoned as gold, silver, and precious stones.
Les explains that the gold, silver, and precious stones are the things that are rightly motivated—when our whole motivation, subconscious as well as conscious, is for God to receive the glory, not for me or you. By contrast, things that enhance the ego will probably end up as wood, hay, and stubble. God looks at the motivation and asks why we do what we do: Are we doing it to be pleasing in God's eyes? Are we doing it to bring glory to Him? If so, it will be reckoned as gold, silver, and precious stones. Les notes those things do not come easy when done for the Lord's glory, and he illustrates the Christian life as like paddling a canoe up a roaring river—never easy, a constant battle against Satan and the world's designs, but God has promised we can do it.