One Pearl

one pearl of great price.

Matthew 13:45-46

With a slight smile and bold confidence, she looked him in the eyes.  Then slowly, she removed her large pearl-drop earring and delicately dissolved it in the vinegar solution before her.  Then Cleopatra turned up the glass and drank the pearl.  Before removing the second glistening earring, Marc Antony stopped Cleopatra.  Stunned, impressed (and perhaps a little bothered), he declared that she’d won the bet. 

 Legend has it that their playful bet came about in the year 41 BC, as the Queen of Egypt, boosted that she could spend 10 million sesterces on a single dinner (scholars think this would be the equivalent value of $25 million or more today).  Antony was extremely desirous to learn how this could be done, seemingly impossible.  So hence the ‘friendly wager’, which was more than friendly, because past their political alliance was their romantic connection.  But Cleopatra, the hostess with mostest, captured the victory with her big-ticket banquet, proving her value.

Maybe we find this legend utterly ridiculous, or maybe we question Cleopatra’s mental state.  Or perhaps we just give her props for creativity.  No matter our response, whether we realize it or not, we’re all doing this.  Maybe we’re not sipping pearls, but we are looking to prove our value—with an innate desire to be seen, heard, and loved. 

But we must be careful.  Value can be tricky.  So, I invite you to join me on a little humble boat in the big blue sea, as we travel with King of Kings, and the King of Pearls, on a refreshing deep dive into an ocean of pearls, uncovering the truth about ‘value’.  Which dissolves into a fragrance that smells much nicer than vinegar. 

Your Value and the Value of others

So let me ask, where is your value coming from?  Your clothes or cute earrings? Your car, your home, or retirement savings?  Maybe the athletic or academic talent of your children?  Your significant other, your social media popularity, or your signature desert?  Wait, how about our title at work, your family name, or the post-nominal letters displaying your academic worth? 

Or a bit heavier, maybe you find your value in slander and gossip, putting others down to lift yourself?  Pride can often blind us to the truth, and pride also happens to be the well-dressed culprit behind sin.   

C.S. Lewis wrote, “Pride, on the other hand is the mother of all sins, and the original sin of luicfer.  An instrument strung, but preferring to play itself because it thinks it knows the tune better than the Musician.”

The Bible warns us about pride, and it strongly advises against both slander and gossip.  God understands the immense damage that it can create, destroying relationships and reputations.  It causes conflict and it hurts our witness.  Not to mention it damages our soul and it wounds another person. 

"He who goes about as a slanderer reveals secrets, therefore do not associate with a gossip," (Proverbs 20:19)

But on the contrary.

Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others.  Philippians 2:3-4

If we’re going to ‘value others above ourselves,’ we must choose a Christlike response, with hearts fixed on helping others (not hurting them, even behind their back).  And it’s then that the world becomes our oyster.  For it’s when we have nothing to prove that we have the most to give.

Covered

Many gemstones on earth can be found buried underground, but the simple yet elegant pearl hides in a far more unexpected setting…inside a shell.  Creation at play. 

The treasure of the pearl begins because of an irritant.  A foreign particle (a parasite or small piece of food) enters the oyster or mollusk and scratches the surface.  Immediately the shell goes to work to create nacre, a protective crystalline substance that is secreted by the oyster’s mantle tissue, surrounding the irritant, and with time it creates something beautiful.  Amazing really.   

Diving a little deeper— round two of Q&A.  Who irritates you?  No really (think about it).  Is it the coworker with the annoying voice?  The ‘know it all’ relative?  That one person that you really thought you could trust? Or the old friend that betrayed you?  Or maybe barely even know ‘this person’, you just don’t like them.  It’s their clothes, or the way they act.  Or you can’t even pinpoint anything, you just don’t like them. 

Or maybe you’re jealous.

Solomon in all his wisdom wrote in Proverbs 27:4, Anger is cruel and fury overwhelming, but who can stand before jealousy?

Am I ‘scratching the surface’?  No matter how big or many irritants we must deal with, we should humbly take a lesson from the oyster.  Just as the oyster encases the irritant with a soft substance and then protects it, we too have a Protector.  As baptized believers, we have the Holy Spirit.  Gentle yet powerful.  He helps us not to react, but rather to respond.  If we can quickly cover an offense with the love of Jesus, it’s a game changer— for us and them. 

No excuses.  Even if it’s a trusted friend, only on occasion, or disguised as prayer (the worst), if we gossip or judge, it’s ungodly.  It’s sinful.  And it doesn’t bring God glory. I once heard someone say, your ‘tea-time’ might be someone else’s testimony.  No one wants their most difficult chapter read aloud.  Plus, we have no idea about the depth of struggles within their backstory.

          Do unto others as you would have them do to you.  Luke 6:31

So, first we ask God to soften and humble our hearts.  If we’ll let Him, He’ll change us.  For His love is mighty and deep.  It’s a love that protects, repairs, and truly creates something better.  As we allow ourselves to become the shell, our Master creates something beautiful within us.  Something beautiful that we can then give to the world.    

May we learn to embrace the irritants.  For within each and every ‘irritant’ within our of lives, lies opportunity.  It’s an opportunity to look for what’s right in someone.  The opportunity to strive to see them as God does.  And the opportunity to choose to be peacemakers (to be an example), as we offer compassion, kindness, and grace.  When we consistently look to the One who holds the answers, we begin to create an endless strand of pearls.  And as Jackie Kennedy Onassis once said, “Pearls are always appropriate”.      

A Banquet of Blessings

Throughout my life, my Dad has deeply instilled many things within me, including ‘always tell the truth’ (I do this sometimes to a fault…).  But another thing that he taught me at an early age was the saying “if it seems too good to be true, it probably is”.  And I have found that to be the case (in our world).  But the Kingdom of God plays by different rules.  It is beyond good, and it is true.  

Matthew 13:45-46, “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant seeking beautiful pearls, who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had and bought it.

It’s such a simple parable that holds so much.  It teaches us that our sacrifice for God’s Kingdom will always prove to be worthy— as it holds immense and eternal value.      

During the time of the Roman Empire (and Cleopatra’s pearl sippin’), pearls were worth more than that of today.  Cleopatra gave careful thought as she diligently sought to prove that her banquet was of the greatest value.  But vanity and corruption often lie within ‘proving self’— becoming quite the daunting hamster wheel.    

As long as we remember, our gifts and valuable things come from the Giver, it's perfectly fine to have a nice car and a beautiful home, and to be grateful for our loved ones.  God wants us to appreciate the good things and to find value in life.  But never at the expense of another. 

One of my favorite things about Christianity is that there’s nothing to prove for any of us.  It’s a level playing field.  Even our sins are all equal, completely covered in the love of Jesus.  In Christ everyone is worthy.  And in Christ we are called to be humble, as we point others to Jesus through our actions and words.   

There’s nothing fancy required for a good Christian life. We don’t need to dissolve a $25 million pearl in a drink to prove our value.  We can have a humble picnic in a green pasture, with a lil’ sweet tea, a pork sandwich (chips, of course), and a sweet, dissolvable ring pop.  And as we diligently seek the ‘One great pearl’, we can bet on a banquet of blessings…as we continue to find and share the value hidden within the luster, light, and love of the Kingdom of Heaven.

3-2-1

3 Scripture Verses,

2 Quotes, and 1 Question to Consider

3 Scripture Verses:

“Do not judge, so that you won’t be judged. For with the judgment you use, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.  Matthew 7:1-2

Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruits.  Proverbs 18:21

So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.  Genesis 1:27

2 Quotes:

“God changes caterpillars into butterflies, sand into pearls and coal into diamonds using time and pressure. He's working on you, too.” - Rick Warren

A pure soul is like a fine pearl. As long as it is hidden in the shell, at the bottom of the sea, no one thinks of admiring it. But if you bring it into the sunshine, this pearl will shine and attract all eyes. Thus the pure soul, which is hidden from the eyes of the world, will one day shine before the angels in the sunshine of eternity. - St. John Vianney

1 Question to Consider:

Where does your value come from, and what are you doing with it?