Pearls Before Breakfast

An intriguing social experiment during morning rush hour got me thinking about our daily priorities and the real values.

I received an email about a man in a Metro station in Washington, D.C., who started to play the violin on a cold January morning. As more than a thousand people scurried by, most on their way to work, he played six classical music selections.

“Three minutes went by and a middle-aged man noticed there was musician playing. He slowed his pace and stopped for a few seconds and then hurried on to meet his schedule.

“A minute later, the violinist received his first dollar tip: a woman threw the money … and without stopping, continued to walk.

“A few minutes later, someone leaned against the wall to listen to him, but the man looked at his watch and started to walk again. …

“The one who paid the most attention was a 3-year-old boy. His mother tugged him along, hurried, but the kid stopped to look at the violinist.

“Finally the mother [pulled] hard and the child continued to walk turning his head all the time. This action was repeated by several other children. All the parents, without exception, forced them to move on.

“No one knew this, but the violinist was Joshua Bell, one of the top musicians in the world. He played one of the most intricate pieces ever written with a violin worth 3.5 million dollars.

“Two days before his playing in the subway, Joshua Bell sold out at a theater in Boston and the seats averaged $100” (http://www.hoax-slayer.com/joshua-bell-subway.shtml).

This story was sent to me in an email by a friend. At first, I did not believe it. But it is actually a true story of an experiment recorded in a Pulitzer Prize–winning article titled “Pearls Before Breakfast” by Gene Weingarten in The Washington Post.

Another pearl

The title “Pearls Before Breakfast” indicates putting something of great value and priority (pearls) before one takes care of his own business in his daily routine (before breakfast).

This got me thinking about the importance of taking care of God’s business first.

What place does the Bible have in our daily routine? We probably see it every day, but do we really recognize its value, its beauty and its great price? And, because we understand its great value, do we make reading God’s Word a priority every day?

Men have sacrificed their lives to make God’s Word accessible

I am fascinated with the story of how the Bible became available to us. Many were persecuted and some even died because they dared to translate the Bible into English; two of those heroes were John Wycliffe and William Tyndale. Even today some risk their lives to provide Bibles to people in countries where Christianity is rejected.

The point is that there has been excitement and passion about the Holy Scriptures. Some were willing to die to bring the Word of God to people who were eager to receive it.

Its words are God-breathed! What an incredible privilege to be able to read it every day!

King Solomon’s example

God gave Solomon an astute and understanding heart; He made him the wisest king in history. But what did Solomon do? He had many foreign wives, and they turned his heart away from the true God toward pagan gods.

Does the Bible say that multiplying wives would cause one’s heart to turn away from God? Yes, it does in Deuteronomy 17:17. Solomon should have heeded God’s warning and the instruction in the following verses:

“Also it shall be, when he sits on the throne of his kingdom, that he shall write for himself a copy of this law in a book, from the one before the priests, the Levites. And it shall be with him, and he shall read it all the days of his life, that he may learn to fear the LORD his God and be careful to observe all the words of this law and these statutes, that his heart may not be lifted above his brethren, that he may not turn aside from the commandment to the right hand or to the left, and that he may prolong his days in his kingdom, he and his children in the midst of Israel” (Deuteronomy 17:18-20).

I know King Solomon was wiser than I am, and God talked to him. If he and the other kings needed to read the Bible every day, do I need it any less? If we want a good relationship with God, we should read His Word every day of our lives.

How can we be kings under the Kings of kings and priests under the High Priest, Jesus the Messiah, if we don’t read the Bible every day? How can we guide others in the way without God’s guidance? How can God write the Scriptures on our hearts if we do not prioritize Bible reading in our lives?

Recognition

“In the three-quarters of an hour that Joshua Bell played, seven people stopped what they were doing to hang around and take in the performance, at least for a minute. Twenty-seven gave money, most of them on the run—for a total of $32 and change,” Gene Weingarten wrote.

“When he finished playing and silence took over, no one noticed it. No one applauded, nor was there any recognition” (http://www.hoax-slayer.com/joshua-bell-subway.shtml).

Do we appreciate our Bible and the price that was paid so it could be made available to us? Do we recognize its value for our salvation? Do we see this pearl of very great price?

Do we give priority to reading God’s Word—even before we take care of our own business? Let’s remember “Pearls Before Breakfast”!

Hervé Irion is a member of the Church of God, a Worldwide Association, in Houston, Texas.