The Parable of the Pearl and the Pawn-shop

The Kingdom of heaven is like a man who has little interest in pearls, generally, until one fortuitous day, he spies, in the window of a shop that he passes by, the loveliest, most iridescent pearl he as ever seen, with a silky smooth sheen. And it's a whopper. He is utterly gobsmacked.
On a  complete and almost uncharacteristic impulse, forgetting that the mortgage was due at the end of the week, and that his wife had just booked their holiday, he burst into the shop demanding to know if this pearl was for sale.

On his demand the shop owner explains that this is a pawn shop and the loan for which this Pearl was collateral had been defaulted on, so it was, indeed for sale.

But when the man heard the cost of the pearl, he was in near apoplexy. It was more money than he had in the entire world. As he left, the shop he had a heavy heart. He knew it was utter madness, but this pearl was too good to be true. He battled and battled on his long walk home until finally, having twice resolved to forget about this crazy pearl idea, he snapped. He knew, that no matter what it cost he couldn't live the rest of his life knowing he had turned down this opportunity. He would regret it forever.

And so this man went straight to the bank from there. On arrival he emptied all his accounts. If this didn't raise enough eyebrows, and after a stringent security check, he was able to get a remortgage on his house. Still not enough. He proceeded to raid his children's trust funds. He walked from the bank to the car park, drove his Mercedes to a second hand car dealership and took a significant cut on its value. It took him only a matter of a few hours to utterly dismantle his life. But he had done it. He had raised the funds.

It was with great jubilation that he left the pawn brokers, without his i phone, without his kindle, without his wedding ring, barefoot and clutching the precious pearl. He bore on his face what can only be described as a slightly unsettling grin, that stretched almost from ear to ear.
Many months later, one particularly cold night, huddled under newspaper for warmth, remembering the family who had turned their backs on him, and the central heating they all continued to enjoy, in the home of another man, who had taken them in, he came to question his decision.

He fumbled , Gollum like at the pearl, which he had sewn into the lining of his trousers, which, now putrid, was as safe a place from human touch as Fort Knox. He looked at it lovingly, but now it's silky smooth complexion seemed an unremarkable thing, almost plain, in fact. It's iridescence; less so out of the strip light that cast its radiance on the pawn shop floor.

And although he knew it to still be a thing of great beauty, he could not see any value in holding onto the thing that had cost him everything, if the only thing he saw when he looked at it was such great loss.

The next day the man returned to the pawn shop and secured a loan against the pearl which, although was not quite the price he had paid for it, one of a size that would secure him a place in the world that was almost at the heights from which he had fallen. And from there he started to rebuild his old life. He slowly built back the trust that his family had lost in him, during his temporary insanity. Although his wife never returned to him, his relationship with his children was restored and things seemed to be as back on track as they could be, under the circumstances.

However, some months later, he found himself dreaming of the pearl he had returned. By day a pining had started. There were only a few days left on its contractually allotted time for repayment. And though he knew he did not want to return to the squalor that ownership of the pearl had meant for him, he decided that he would look at it just one more time.

On seeing the pearl once more, however, his heart felt like it would burst open and he knew, with absolute clarity, that THIS was what had been missing. He was absolutely sure this time.

And so the man went through the process of liquidating his life for a second time. And later, camped out in a doorway he wept as he held the pearl, and made promises to it again, declaring that he would never again be without it. Apologising for having lost faith in its beauty, to sustain him.

A few months later, one rainy night, whilst taking shelter, he began to repeat the process...


Oh, sorry. No it isn't. Because this pearl deal is a one time thing. Its cost is complete surrender of all our lives. Its value is immeasurable.