Pearls Before Breakfast

One of the illustrations used by C.J. Mahaney at the Text and Context Conference in Seattle last week was based on an article in the Washington Post entitled Pearls Before Breakfast. The short version of the story is that the Post conducted an experiment on January 12, 2007, at a Washington subway stop. They got Joshua Bell, a world renowned violinist, to take his $3.5 million Stadivari vioin and perform as a street musician at the entrance to the Washington metro during morning rush hour. They wanted to see the effect that context would have on people's perceptions of beauty.

The results? In short, out of 1097 people who passed by, only 7 stopped to listen for more than one minute. The musician who can command $1000 per minute for some of his concerts made $32 and change for his 43 minutes of playing. Most commuters were so engrossed in their normal routines -- rushing to work, dropping off kids, and buying lotto tickets -- that they didn't even notice the beuaty of the moment.

There are great lessons in this for us in relation to the Gospel. The good news of Jesus is the most beautiful and valuable treasure in all of heaven and earth. And yet, how many people cannot take the time to appreciate it because they are so busy with their routine and mundane things? Even for those of us who have seen the beauty and glory of the gospel, we far too often find ourselves losing our joy and passion for this treasure as we chase after other infinitely less valuable things.

Click HERE to read the whole article, and then let me know how it makes you think about beauty and the gospel.