The brown patches on the lawn spread slowly until they began to engulf the unpretentious 1,200-square-foot ranch home in a quiet neighborhood in Carson City, Nevada. Apparently no one cared for the house anymore, no one really knew the owner, and now some were reporting a stench coming from the house. Authorities called in to do a “well check” and found Walter Samaszko Jr. dead.
The county coroner said he’d died with heart problems about a month before but no one had noticed, no one called, no one knew and no one cared. Walter was 69, unmarried, no siblings, his father had died suddenly in an industrial accident 45 years before and his mother had been gone for 20 years. His mailman hadn’t seen him, the neighbors never got into conversations with him and rarely made sightings. He left no will. County officials were going to have a really hard time finding a living relative — one who was in for a huge shock. When Carson County finally contacted her, she ended up, in the words of one official, “so frazzled and so harassed.”
Cleaning crews came to work the home over and get it ready to go up for sale. Nothing spectacular there. The carpeting was vintage 70s orange shag, more landfill than landmark quality. The green tile wasn’t going to make the cover of Good Housekeeping, especially since the whole thing wasn’t dusted or vacuumed. The guts of electronic gadgets had been spilled out and picked over but never quite put back together. Maybe that was Walter’s other hobby. He had a second hobby squirreled away in the garage.
Cleaning crews got out to the garage eventually. There sat a fine 1968 Ford Mustang — undriven. Walter bought it the year before his dad’s death and left it in his garage. I suppose a car buff house cleaner would have been impressed, but its value at auction was a mere $17,000. Stacked in a corner were old ammunition boxes. These great big ten-cubic-foot metal boxes were labeled “books.”
In Untold Treasure by the Door you read about John’s unrecognized 17-pound gold nugget door stop. But Walter knew exactly what he kept in his supposed “book” boxes. He had exquisite records showing where each of the items had come from. He had more than what was in the garage, too, hidden away in the crawl space and in a decrepit washing machine.
In God’s Word, the Bible, there’s a parable about a man that most people would think of as much smarter than Walter Samaszko Jr. You’ll see what I mean in a minute, but first the parable from the Bible. “The ground of a certain rich man brought forth plentifully: and he thought within himself, saying, What shall I do, because I have no room where to bestow my fruits? And he said, This will I do: I will pull down my barns, and build greater; and there will I bestow all my fruits and my goods. And I will say to my soul, Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years; take thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry. But God said unto him, Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee: then whose shall those things be, which thou hast provided? So is he that layeth up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God” (Luke 12:16-2116And he spake a parable unto them, saying, The ground of a certain rich man brought forth plentifully: 17And he thought within himself, saying, What shall I do, because I have no room where to bestow my fruits? 18And he said, This will I do: I will pull down my barns, and build greater; and there will I bestow all my fruits and my goods. 19And I will say to my soul, Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years; take thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry. 20But God said unto him, Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee: then whose shall those things be, which thou hast provided? 21So is he that layeth up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God. (Luke 12:16‑21)). This wealthy farmer planned ahead for his retirement. He struck it rich and planned to live it up. He’d carefully store his windfall and then have a wonderful time partying without the pressure of his business. His problem? He left God out of his praise and his plans. He gave himself the credit for his success and lived without concern for others or, more importantly, for God. God doesn’t condemn wealth, but He wants us to remember that it comes from Him. He wants us to know it only has value for a limited time because death is the beginning of eternity and not the end of existence. He wants us to discover that all true gifts are from Him — both for this life and beyond.
Inside Walter Samaszko’s boxes was a twist worthy of Charles Dickens himself — gold coins, thousands of them. There were 2,900 from Austria, thousands more from Mexico, old U.S. gold pieces dating to the 1800s, gold bullion and silver coins. There were even rolls of gold coins stuck between silverware settings. Alan Glover, in charge of the case, had to go to a neighbor and borrow a wheelbarrow to start hauling out all the gold. Between all the gold bullion and rare coins sold at two different auctions, there was about $7,000,000 of gold and silver stashed in the modest little home. What did Walter do with it? Who knows, but he sure didn’t spend it. He withdrew about $500 from his bank account every month, he paid his bills and that’s about all we know.
The gold didn’t appear to have done Walter or anyone else any good. Working from a 45-year-old funeral program, investigators located one surviving relative, Arlene Magdanz. She was working in California as a substitute teacher. Besieged by the media, frazzled by all the attention, she left her apartment and went into hiding. After the government takes their estate taxes, she will receive about $6,000,000. Hopefully Arlene will put the bonanza to good use.
In reality, you have been offered a far greater treasure. In the Bible it says that you “were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold ... but with the precious blood of Christ” (1 Peter 1:18-1918Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers; 19But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot: (1 Peter 1:18‑19)). Unlike the fool who focused in on treasure and pleasure, you, right now, have the opportunity to learn more about Christ and the precious blood He shed so that sinners like you and me could be saved. Redeemed means to be bought back and set free. At least once in our lives you and I have been dishonest, ungrateful, angry or self-centered. All of these are considered sin that God won’t permit in His home in heaven. God’s Word clearly states that “the wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:2323For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. (Romans 6:23)). That means to be separated forever from God and all that is good.
But unlike Walter who hoarded his secret treasures in old ammo boxes, God gave what was most precious to Him so that your sins could be properly paid for. Jesus Christ came and suffered a cruel death on a cross. While on that cross He was punished by God for sin. God tells us why He did it: “He hath made [Jesus Christ] to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him” (2 Corinthians 5:2121For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him. (2 Corinthians 5:21)).
Arlene Magdanz was shocked and harassed by all the attention surrounding her vast inheritance. I suppose she might have refused it, but that’s pretty doubtful. God quietly, without fanfare, right this minute is offering you an unimaginably huge, untaxable gift. He says “the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord” (Romans 6:2323For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. (Romans 6:23)). Will you turn it down? Do you foolishly think all you need is to be a “good person” in this life and everything will take care of itself for the future? Do you live, as Walter seemed to, as though there is no future? God clearly says, “Now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation” (2 Corinthians 6:22(For he saith, I have heard thee in a time accepted, and in the day of salvation have I succored thee: behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.) (2 Corinthians 6:2)). Will God’s gift, far more precious than gold, do you any good?
Find out about another of God’s wonderful gifts in The Unappreciated Treasure.