A Prince, A Princess & A Pea
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Are you discontent? If not, you should be! At least that's the moral of Hans Christian Anderson's The Princess & the Pea. If Anderson isn't making fun of nobility in this story, which is an option, the innocent little green pea represents something much bigger-discontentment; the complaining of the princess is lauded as heroism, it brings her riches and a noble title. The meaning of the story is like a mysterious shadow that follows along in
the corners of the soul. . .like the search for one's true identity. We want to be recognized; we want the nobility in us to be seen; we want to recognize ourselves & experience contentment. How many moments have you felt like the heroine of this story, unsheltered caught by way of a storm,
rain-soaked, unadorned, like royalty disguised: the shining royal self you cannot seem to find, yet, you are hiding a royal identity? If only for the wisdom of one who can present the true test of noble character! The queen in this story deserves an applause all her own, one who is wise and perceptive enough to know the TRUE test of nobility deep within. Perhaps our discontentment was meant to lead us to truth, and ultimately to finding our true self. It certainly doesn't make anyone feel like a hero -discontentment, complaining, a feeling of meaninglessness; however, maybe it is the gauntlet through which we must pass to find our identity and true wealth.
A very famous king's discontentment led him to a search for wisdom in a surprisingly complementary biblical story to the Princess & the Pea - Solomon of Ecclesiastes. Solomon was standing atop twenty of the worlds' most luxurious mattresses: the worlds' best of food and palaces, entertainment & gardens, the worlds' most intelligent orators of religion and philosophies, the best that nations had to offer. And he had nobility; he was presumably the most noble king who had ever lived. He stood on top of all these mattresses and felt the pea. That tiny pea of human mortality and inconsistency, the cause of his anguish and suffering. The world's religions and philosophies seemed impressive, yet- whether a man or woman did good or evil, the same fate awaited them all-death.
Solomon's ultimate question was "How can I find contentment in what I do?" Death and inconsistent results cast a shadow of discontentment and meaningless to our days & years. For the Princess, for Solomon, and for us, the pea is an anguishing presence (remember, the Princess wasn't just irritated, she was black and blue all over from having to sleep on a pea!) that can be felt even in the midst of stacked physical and spiritual luxury. No matter how much comfort one stacks up for themselves, (and no matter how many positive thoughts one comforts themselves with) somewhere deep inside the knowledge that nothing lasts or that nothing is perfect makes one uncomfortable; the knowledge that even if I am not presently suffering, somewhere, someone is. Many of us would agree that even if our bellies are always well-fed and our shoes new and our homes warm through the night, our moments of contentment are few and fleeting. There is always a pea. If it is not an immediate medical concern, the looming death of a loved one, a divorce, financial struggles, an unwanted move, the death of a dream, an inconsistent friend, the list goes on... then the pea will still be the suffering of others & our own hidden sufferings & yearnings. For Solomon the sun would rise & fall for millenia, but people, the crown of creation, had their breath for a mere 70 years; even if life were perfect (his would have been close by worldly definitions) there is still the quick approach of the grave and this inconsistency everywhere in the world ("There is a time to love and a time to hate", "there is a time for war, and a time for peace").
What sets Solomon's story apart from many searches for wisdom comes to us in the famous account in II Chronicles 1 - Solomon asked the Lord for wisdom. The Lord was pleased with this and gave it to him: it was not because Solomon was so philosophically clever that he came to his famous last chapter in Ecclasiastes, but because the Lord gave him this understanding. Ecclesiastes is written as an exploration of human wisdom, it echos the story of Adam in the Garden when the Lord had brought before Adam all the creatures of creation and none were found suitable as a companion for Adam, the Lord had demonstrated to Adam his need. In Ecclesiastes, Solomon parades lines of observable human wisdom for us which remain unsatisfying as an end in themselves and presents us with our need for God. In Ecclesiastes Solomon draws the mattresses for us and then inserts before our very eyes the pea. If among the mattresses of the human experience we feel this pea of meaninglessness, Solomon then offers us the wealth that the queen in the fairytale offered the girl-hope for meaning and a new identity. The Lord allowed Solomon to see the folly in the human experience apart from God and the restorative hope: "Remember your Creator in the days of your youth, before the days of trouble come....before the silver cord is severed, or the golden bowl is broken; before the pitcher is shattered at the spring..." that is the end of our life "...and the spirit returns to God who gave it" (Ecc. 12:1-7). Solomon ends with these words: "Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man."
Wisdom and wealth lie in finding a new identity in the Lord through faith, in the face of inconsistency and death. Sometimes a wicked man will prosper and a righteous man will suffer. Life can't make sense because the best of us humans have been inconsistent, yet, as Solomon discovered, God himself offers us His consistence through His story to us, words that lead us ultimately to Christ who made the provision for us to know His salvation, and give us that abundant life for which we were seeking; that we need no longer fear the "silver cord severed" because the severing only brings us to where God dwells through Christ. Solomon realized that it would take an act of humility before one's awesome maker, an act of reorienting one's whole self toward God, who alone is worthy of this response, for it is to Him that we shall return. Solomon who was the "prince atop the mattresses" then becomes the storyteller, "casting his bread upon the waters" that others may find life, in this stormy world! (Ecc. 11:1) Indeed, without Christ, life is futile; Ecclesiastes prepares us to meet Christ, the one who "calms the storm," that the apparent meaninglessness with which we are confronted with ultimately creates. Christ came then to keep God's commandments perfectly and in humility performed the whole duty of man for which God then gave Him the authority to give us His life that we might have it "abundantly."
A very famous king's discontentment led him to a search for wisdom in a surprisingly complementary biblical story to the Princess & the Pea - Solomon of Ecclesiastes. Solomon was standing atop twenty of the worlds' most luxurious mattresses: the worlds' best of food and palaces, entertainment & gardens, the worlds' most intelligent orators of religion and philosophies, the best that nations had to offer. And he had nobility; he was presumably the most noble king who had ever lived. He stood on top of all these mattresses and felt the pea. That tiny pea of human mortality and inconsistency, the cause of his anguish and suffering. The world's religions and philosophies seemed impressive, yet- whether a man or woman did good or evil, the same fate awaited them all-death.
Solomon's ultimate question was "How can I find contentment in what I do?" Death and inconsistent results cast a shadow of discontentment and meaningless to our days & years. For the Princess, for Solomon, and for us, the pea is an anguishing presence (remember, the Princess wasn't just irritated, she was black and blue all over from having to sleep on a pea!) that can be felt even in the midst of stacked physical and spiritual luxury. No matter how much comfort one stacks up for themselves, (and no matter how many positive thoughts one comforts themselves with) somewhere deep inside the knowledge that nothing lasts or that nothing is perfect makes one uncomfortable; the knowledge that even if I am not presently suffering, somewhere, someone is. Many of us would agree that even if our bellies are always well-fed and our shoes new and our homes warm through the night, our moments of contentment are few and fleeting. There is always a pea. If it is not an immediate medical concern, the looming death of a loved one, a divorce, financial struggles, an unwanted move, the death of a dream, an inconsistent friend, the list goes on... then the pea will still be the suffering of others & our own hidden sufferings & yearnings. For Solomon the sun would rise & fall for millenia, but people, the crown of creation, had their breath for a mere 70 years; even if life were perfect (his would have been close by worldly definitions) there is still the quick approach of the grave and this inconsistency everywhere in the world ("There is a time to love and a time to hate", "there is a time for war, and a time for peace").
What sets Solomon's story apart from many searches for wisdom comes to us in the famous account in II Chronicles 1 - Solomon asked the Lord for wisdom. The Lord was pleased with this and gave it to him: it was not because Solomon was so philosophically clever that he came to his famous last chapter in Ecclasiastes, but because the Lord gave him this understanding. Ecclesiastes is written as an exploration of human wisdom, it echos the story of Adam in the Garden when the Lord had brought before Adam all the creatures of creation and none were found suitable as a companion for Adam, the Lord had demonstrated to Adam his need. In Ecclesiastes, Solomon parades lines of observable human wisdom for us which remain unsatisfying as an end in themselves and presents us with our need for God. In Ecclesiastes Solomon draws the mattresses for us and then inserts before our very eyes the pea. If among the mattresses of the human experience we feel this pea of meaninglessness, Solomon then offers us the wealth that the queen in the fairytale offered the girl-hope for meaning and a new identity. The Lord allowed Solomon to see the folly in the human experience apart from God and the restorative hope: "Remember your Creator in the days of your youth, before the days of trouble come....before the silver cord is severed, or the golden bowl is broken; before the pitcher is shattered at the spring..." that is the end of our life "...and the spirit returns to God who gave it" (Ecc. 12:1-7). Solomon ends with these words: "Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man."
Wisdom and wealth lie in finding a new identity in the Lord through faith, in the face of inconsistency and death. Sometimes a wicked man will prosper and a righteous man will suffer. Life can't make sense because the best of us humans have been inconsistent, yet, as Solomon discovered, God himself offers us His consistence through His story to us, words that lead us ultimately to Christ who made the provision for us to know His salvation, and give us that abundant life for which we were seeking; that we need no longer fear the "silver cord severed" because the severing only brings us to where God dwells through Christ. Solomon realized that it would take an act of humility before one's awesome maker, an act of reorienting one's whole self toward God, who alone is worthy of this response, for it is to Him that we shall return. Solomon who was the "prince atop the mattresses" then becomes the storyteller, "casting his bread upon the waters" that others may find life, in this stormy world! (Ecc. 11:1) Indeed, without Christ, life is futile; Ecclesiastes prepares us to meet Christ, the one who "calms the storm," that the apparent meaninglessness with which we are confronted with ultimately creates. Christ came then to keep God's commandments perfectly and in humility performed the whole duty of man for which God then gave Him the authority to give us His life that we might have it "abundantly."
The Princess' discontentment is heroic. She was not lulled to sleep by the present comfort of 20 mattresses: she was able to grasp that her present moment of comfort did not contain the whole of all the meaning of life, in fact, it was even hiding it. We all have our own 20 mattresses appearing in many forms, it could be our love for nature, our esoteric elation with life, our fascinating hobbies, our optimism, our pessimism, various philosophies that do not give an adequate account for the human condition, it can be our marriage, or our families, our important careers, and any of the fabulous things that we own and do: anything that brings us temporary comfort from the storms of life can also become that which hides life's meaning from us. There is not even one of them that can ultimately satisfy us. Without the discovery of life's inherent meaninglessness, without the discovery of the pea, we remain poor & common. Full of common human wisdom, perhaps, but, without the thing that satisfies.
Solomon's search for meaning caused him to seek wisdom from God. From the vantage point of having everything that the world could offer, instead of being content with his "on top of the world" position, he reflected on the whole of life and asked God for wisdom: it is no small thing to ask God for wisdom, the Lord is moved when we do; the Lord allowed him to see way down deep beyond the present moment of comfort and meaninglessness to our need for God. The whole of wisdom couldn't be found in a collection of Proverbs, "Lazy hands bring poverty, but hard-working hands bring riches" which amount to observations about life, or in various quotes from the Book of Human Wisdom, like "There is nothing better for people to do, than to eat, drink, and find satisfaction in their work," or even in the simple delight in the good things in life: Solomon's experience as an art patron, sponsor of musicians, master garden designer, astute philosopher, host extraordinaire to kings & queens, connoisseur of countless wealthy hobbies, perfecter of palace decor, great love-maker, etc. and God's wisdom, allowed him to write that there are many good things but that nothing is good in and of itself. Goodness could only ultimately be reached through an act of faith, casting ourselves upon the Everlasting One who ultimately restores the meaning that we were searching for through Christ, who was a provision for us and our inability to keep the whole law of God, and as the Way to eternal life.
Solomon's search for meaning caused him to seek wisdom from God. From the vantage point of having everything that the world could offer, instead of being content with his "on top of the world" position, he reflected on the whole of life and asked God for wisdom: it is no small thing to ask God for wisdom, the Lord is moved when we do; the Lord allowed him to see way down deep beyond the present moment of comfort and meaninglessness to our need for God. The whole of wisdom couldn't be found in a collection of Proverbs, "Lazy hands bring poverty, but hard-working hands bring riches" which amount to observations about life, or in various quotes from the Book of Human Wisdom, like "There is nothing better for people to do, than to eat, drink, and find satisfaction in their work," or even in the simple delight in the good things in life: Solomon's experience as an art patron, sponsor of musicians, master garden designer, astute philosopher, host extraordinaire to kings & queens, connoisseur of countless wealthy hobbies, perfecter of palace decor, great love-maker, etc. and God's wisdom, allowed him to write that there are many good things but that nothing is good in and of itself. Goodness could only ultimately be reached through an act of faith, casting ourselves upon the Everlasting One who ultimately restores the meaning that we were searching for through Christ, who was a provision for us and our inability to keep the whole law of God, and as the Way to eternal life.
May God lead us, through the pea of discontent, where He led Solomon, seeking the Lord for wisdom, every day and every hour. The Bible tells us that life is primarily a spiritual battle, our eyes are quick to be darkened. It is never too often to ask God to give us His wisdom. May the pea lead us to God's message written from Heaven, the love of His Words, and the belief in the mysterious salvation through Christ offered to those who once walked in darkness but of whom the Bible now calls the children of light. May discontentment with this life lead you to find everyday your contentment in Christ.
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