Finding Your Pearl
Discipline, n
A set or system of rules and regulations; a method of regulating practice
Subjection to rule; submissiveness to control; obedience to rules and commands
That which serves to instruct or train; specifically, a course of study; a science or an art
Within this definition are several words that are not popular within the current culture that we live. With platitudes like Live Your Truth or Do What Makes You Happy, the ideas of rules, regulations, submission to control, correction, etc. are not readily accepted because those words point to absolutes and these platitudes invite only subjectivity.
Happiness is a trap we all fall in. I want to be happy. I want you, dear reader, to be happy, too. But the cold hard truth is that happiness should never be the goal. Knowing who you are, as Dolly Parton would say, and doing it on purpose is the goal. Purpose.
To discover your purpose, it’s a good idea to take a look at the things which you are passionate about. One of those things is your purpose. Or perhaps several of those things all together will bring you to a greater platform of purpose. Speaking for myself, my purpose does include my passions, but it is rooted in a deeper passion found in my relationship with Jesus. Everything revolves around that center. Who I am is rooted in being a child of God, and because of this, my purpose is in service to my Heavenly Father. From that secure place, I am able to see how the Father created me, instilling within me a unique set of giftings. From there, I can pursue my individual purpose.
Finding your purpose is the first step. Like I wrote about in Adopt Discipline, the next step is creating a routine that steps you ever closer to that purpose. The routine is the safety net you need when your emotions don’t kowtow.
The next step is developing a sense of urgency.
Ekzeteo
The Greek work ekzeteo is one you should commit to memory.
Ekzeteo means to zealously seek for something with all one’s heart, strength, and might. At a glance, ekzeteo is finding what you’re passionate about, what you love, and pursuing it. Yet, within this word is an attitude of earnestness. It’s a picture of someone who is persistent, constant, attentive, and active in her devotion to what she is doing. It’s a picture of diligence.
Diligence is constant and earnest effort to accomplish what is undertaken; constancy in the performance of duty or the conduct of business; persistent exertion of body or mind; industry; assiduity.
Diligence is full of words I love. Constancy. Earnestness. Persistence. Industry. Assiduity. Perseverance. I’ve written in depth about some of these words. They galvanize me just writing them out and reading them. They have spiritual veracity and strength.
But, there’s more to diligence.
The Pearl of Great Price
In digging into its etymology, I came across something wonderful. Way back in the Latin byways, diligence meant to single out, value highly, esteem, prize, love. These words remind me of the parable Jesus told:
“Again the kingdom of heaven is like a man who is a dealer in search of fine and precious pearls, Who, on finding a single pearl of great price, went and sold all he had and bought it.”
When Jesus spoke these words, it was during the time of the Roman empire. A little back story on pearls during the Roman Empire. Unlike today when we have cultivated pearls readily available at a variety of different price points, in ancient Rome, pearls were extremely rare as they had to be found in nature. Furthermore, the larger, more costly the pearl, the deeper and more perilous the dive to attain it.
During the Roman Empire, pearls were such a rarity, that only the most noble of nobility could afford them. Even the smallest of pearls could only be bought by top tier nobility. Pearls were synonymous with royalty for this reason.
When Jesus speaks about a merchant of precious and rare things finding a single pearl of great price, the people to whom he was talking automatically knew that this pearl was worth the price of a large kingdom. It was worth everything a merchant had just to possess it.
“Pearls don’t lie on the seashore, if you want one, you must dive for it.” Chinese Proverb
Be a Diver
Pearl divers had their goal- finding a pearl, even better, a big pearl. A pearl diver was willing to the take the risk of his life because if he found such a pearl, he was set for the rest of his life and that of his family’s life, too. It was a discovery that left a legacy.
To become a diver able to explore the depths of the sea in search of such a pearl required disciplined training achieved only over time.
We’ve all seen modern movies where divers equipped with breathing apparatuses and oxygen tanks are able to achieve great depths, but in ancient Rome, such equipment was not available.
Certainly, a person’s natural proclivity gave him a leg up and his adherence to a routine and personal discipline made him capable of achieving success as a pearl diver. Many factors make pearl diving (or freediving- diving underwater without any form of breathing apparatus) deadly. Therefore, developing the ability to hold one’s breath for long periods of time as well as achieve optimal acclimatization as you descend under water was necessary. With that necessity, came a sense of urgency. There was only an allotted time to dive and if that time is exceeded, myriad negatives result, the ultimate of which was death, could occur.
The goal then was to achieve the deepest dive in the allotted time, find oysters or mussels at that depth, bring them to the surface, and, hopefully, find one which contained a pearl.
Pursuing this purpose required discipline. Discipline cultivated out of passion. Discipline honed through routine. Discipline achieved through diligence.
“How could you reach the pearl by only looking at the sea? If you seek the pearl, be a diver.” – Rumi
One of the ways you can make the pearl of great price applicable to your personal life is by seeing the pearl of great price as what you love. It is that thing within your soul which sets it afire. It is what you diligently are seeking. It is that which will bring you joy when you find and/or achieve it. But, to find it, you must be in search of it.
Love is Full of Discipline
The foundational framework of diligence is love. This does not surprise me being that diligence is a facet of discipline. And love is full of discipline.
When we hear the word discipline, love is not often the first synonym that comes to mind. Yet, ask any mama or papa out there. If they love their children, they will discipline them. Love is full of discipline.
If you have a passion for something, discipline becomes intrinsic in your pursuit of that passion. The more diligently you pursue that passion, the more earnest your sense of urgency will become. You know you’re getting close to your goal, to achieving your purpose.
Case in Point
When William Wilberforce entered parliament in 1770, I do not believe he had any idea of the extraordinary purpose he was about to discover. In 1787, Wilberforce donned that purpose when he became head of the Abolition movement within Parliament. During every session for the next eighteen years, Wilberforce introduced anti-slavery measures, which culminated with the ending of the slave trade in 1807. However, though the physical tax upon his person was considerable, Wilberforce continued his quest.
In Britain, Wilberforce was the champion of the anti-slavery movement. Every club, gathering, or committee that met to achieve that end bore his fingerprints. After the slave trade was abolished, he continued his work to see that every slave would be freed. This daunting task finally achieved traction when the Slavery Abolition Bill of 1833 was read aloud for the third time in Parliament. Sentiment in Britain had changed so entirely toward slavery- through Wilberforce and his contemporaries’ tireless efforts- that it was largely known that the measure would be passed and adopted into law.
The third reading of this bill occurred three days before the death of William Wilberforce. He knew when he breathed his last that the purpose that drove him through the lean times, the difficult times, and the victories had been achieved. He had diligently and urgently dived and the result was finding his pearl of great price.
Apply This to You
When you love something, you pursue it zealously. With earnestness. With due diligence. You’re attentive to it. You care about it. You hold it in your heart and guard it. You spend your time, energy, and resources in attaining it.
And when you achieve it or acquire it, like that pearl of great price, you see how a merchant can sell everything that he has to possess it. To the merchant, that pearl is of priceless value for it is what he has sought and pursued with the whole of his being.
May we all experience that that sort of love filled discipline in our own lives. It requires time, introspection, and prayer to find that passioned purpose. But once discovered, discipline, diligence, and urgency are what will carry you through to its achievement.
What is it that you love? What is it that you highly value and truly prize? To what do you aspire? What is the x in your equation that equals the pearl of great price?
