Treasure

I have read a story about a man who was wandering though a field when he came across a treasure that was hidden. When he realized what he had found, he hid it again, sold all his worth, and bought the field so that he could enjoy the treasure for himself. To be honest, this story has always disturbed me. Didn't this treasure originally belong to someone else. Someone, who like himself had hidden the treasure originally? Isn't this in some way stealing? Or at least dishonest gain?

 To get caught in the moral dilemma is to miss the point I gather. After all, a treasure hidden in a field doesn't exactly speak of honest merit to begin with, but we can always assume the negative. The story is about the kingdom of heaven and how when one finds it, it should be seen a treasure worth everything we have. And when we find it, we should give up everything we have with Joy to have the greater treasure. 

Sounds good in theory. However, in truth many rarely find a "treasure" of such value. If that were the case, there'd be much less poverty. If the treasure had truly been found, the rate of violence would likely be much lower. A treasure of such value should lead people to stop living so selfishly. Instead of starving to be treasured by others, the find would compel them to treasure others. Friendships would be less expendable. Children would be more celebrated. Others would be encouraged to search. Who knows maybe we would find that we were more likely to help them search.