A Persian Folktale

A Persian Folktale

[Jesus said,] “Don’t store up treasures here on earth. . . . Store your treasures in heaven, where moths and rust cannot destroy, and thieves do not break in and steal.”

Matthew 6:19-20

It had been too long since Horace Walpole had smiled. Too long. Life for him had become as drab as the dreary weather in England. Then, on a grim winter day in 1754, while he was reading a Persian folktale, his smile returned. He wrote his longtime friend Sir Horace Mann, an envoy of King George II, telling him of the “thrilling approach to life” he had discovered from the folktale—how it had freed him from his dark prison of gloom.

The ancient tale told of three princes from the island of Ceylon who set out in pursuit of great treasures. They never found what they were seeking, but en route they were repeatedly surprised by delights they had never anticipated. While looking for one thing, they found another.

The original name of Ceylon was Serendip, which explains the title of the story: “The Three Princes of Serendip.” From that, Walpole coined the wonderful word serendipity. And from then on, his most significant and valued experiences were those that happened to him when he was least expecting them.

That “thrilling approach to life” is still a good one. People go searching for things they think are important—wealth, happiness, power. But sometimes as they search, they stumble into other things much more vital to them—God, faith, family, friends, love, peace, contentment, and joy.

At the end of life, they realize they didn’t get what they wanted, but they had, indeed, ended up with what they needed.

What are you pursuing in your life? When the time comes to look back over your life, will it be what you thought you wanted, or will it be what you really needed?

Father God, thank you for guiding us to the heavenly things we truly need rather than to the earthly things we think we want. You are merciful to us, Lord. Amen.