El Dorado: Fool's Gold

“Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and hid; and for joy over it he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.”
- Matthew 13:44

“Here we are at Dead Horse Camp, Lat. 110 43’ S and 540 35’ W, the spot where my horse died in 1920. Only his white bones remain. We can bathe ourselves here, but the insects make it a matter of great haste. Nevertheless, the season is good… You need have no fear of any failure.” — Percy Fawcett’s last communication before disappearing in his 1925 quest through the Amazon in search of the Lost City of Z (a.k.a. “El Dorado”).

Historians estimate tens of thousands of people throughout history have died searching for El Dorado. The idea of a “city of gold” has captivated people for hundreds of years. 17 states in the U.S. have a town named “Eldorado” or “El Dorado,” including the one in which I live. However, my town was named for the gold grass covering the prairie rather than any gold in the ground.

The term “El Dorado” never referred to a city. The actual translation of the term is “the gilded one” or “the golden one.” Originating from Spanish conquistadors in the 16th century who encountered stories of the ritual coronation of the indigenous Muisca people in the Andes mountains of present-day Colombia. A new tribal chief among them would be covered in resin and dusted with gold from head to to toe. As part of the coronation, the new tribal leader would dive into the sacred water to wash it off while subjects threw gold and emeralds into Lake Guatavita.

Overtime, the legend grew from assumptions that if indigenous people had gold and emeralds to throw away so readily, they must live in a “city of gold.” And the quest was on to find this golden city. The only problem is no city of gold exists. The story was about “the gilded one” and not an earthly place.

We often make the same mistake. We convolute spiritual needs with earthly desires. We stop looking to the Savior and start looking for a life we can savor.

Jesus tells us in Matthew 13:44, “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and hid; and for joy over it he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.”

Jesus’ desire is not to build a city (or life) of gold for us in this world. He is the treasure. He is the only true Gilded One to ever walk this earth. We purchased the field for the treasure, not to till the ground. We sell everything and go all in not to build a castle, amusement park or financially successful endeavor. We go all in to bring the Treasure to the surface. To experience Him in our lives and share Him with those around us.

Don’t get caught chasing the fool’s gold of wealth, circumstantial improvement, happiness or pleasure. We sell all to purchase the land for the sake of the Treasure. The Gilded One whom we coronate as Leader, Lord and Savior of our lives.

The value is not in the field. It is just dirt (as in the dirt of the earth taken to make Adam in Genesis). There is nothing of eternal worth in the dirt. However, when we give all to purchase the dirt for the sake of the treasure of Jesus Christ, we truly have cause to shout, “El Dorado!”

He makes the field worth the purchase. He makes us worthy. He is the Gilded One hidden in the field of your life who brings about redemption, sanctification, holiness, acceptance and love. What greater treasure could we desire? The only question: are we willing to give all for the sake of the eternal treasure? Or are we pursing the fool’s gold of trying to better the field, and build a better life for ourselves in this world?

We get to chose. The disastrous history of those who have chased after El Dorado as a place on earth should serve as a warning to us all. That path ends in disappointment and destruction. Those who seek the true Gilded One—Jesus Christ—find the greatest treasure ever known regardless of the condition of the field in which He is found. Give all to acquire the Treasure!

© 2026 Warren Martin. All rights Reserved.