An EMBER TO REMEMBER: Preservation
Preservation is a method of reserving, keeping, storing, holding, abstaining, or putting away resources or valuables. It is a skill and practice that man has been implementing for centuries. Farmers, foresters, and engineers are just a few jobs that help preserve some of Earth's greatest resources.
People preserve or store many things that possess some form of value, benefit, or service. Observing our personal lives, we practice preservation daily by storing food, water, medicine, and other toiletries needed for everyday living. The practice of preservation can also be assimilated to accumulating wealth. Starting a savings account, signing off on an insurance policy, or accepting an employer's pension plan can help one preserve or store wealth.
Preservation is a great skill to possess and develop consistently, not only for tangible goods and resources but also for the intangible.
Preserving Your Pearls
To get to the point of this article, it is just a simple reminder that the way man has stored resources and goods for centuries is the same way we must learn to preserve our pearls, both tangible and intangible. A popular and noted quote from the biblical text advises believers "not to cast their pearls before swine." Before one can differentiate between the two, one must understand their pearls and be able to identify what is swine.
One's pearls could be generosity, a great work ethic, creativity, encouragement, building, leadership, serving others, etc. What is considered swine could be toxic environments and negative influences. Swine is not only limited to negative outside influences or environments but also our own internal issues, such as unhealthy habits, poor decision-making, and inconsistencies. Swine is not always necessarily evil, but it can be detrimental and inhibit one's progress.
Preserving our pearls within context is NOT about being exempt from things, people, situations, or environments that tempt us to regress but about not allowing ourselves not to become indulged by them. This could look like abstaining from an "intentional" conversation meant to gossip or slander someone else. There is a pearl in keeping some opinions or even facts to yourself. It can also look like choosing not to argue or be combative with someone else who wants to provoke you to anger, jealousy, or hate. There is the great pearl of self-control. From a personal stance, it can mean not allowing oneself to drawback from doing something new or starting again for fear of failure. Courage is a great pearl to possess and build upon.
An Internal Reflection
Preserving our pearls is not intended to be a self-righteous act to be better than anyone or anything else, but more focused on how we purposely allot our time, resources, and valuables -- PEARLS.
We must understand our pearls—our resources, abilities, attributes, and qualities about ourselves. Recognizing and appreciating these qualities is a step to help us preserve our pearls. It's also imperative to be honest and identify our swine-like nature around us and within ourselves. The more we correct ourselves, the greater we can differentiate between not casting our pearls before swine. We should not overly extend ourselves to things without value or benefit.
Like natural resources, we should persevere in that which God has graced us to possess. With God's help, He can show us precisely what swine is and how to preserve our pearls properly.
Do not cast your pearls before swine -- whatever that may be.
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