Burning the Rembrandt

There's a metaphor I often think of: Burning the Rembrandt to warm one's hands. People will hack stained glass from a Church so as to sell the lead. They will trash a precious archive in case their sin is in it. They will slug a man to death to take his place on the team. These are real examples. Bob Dylan, in Murder Most Foul, sings about the great president, shot down like a dog. This is what it means to get it completely wrong -- one's values head over heels -- the values which will not stand the test on the Judgement Day.