Pearls before swine

In Matthew 7:6 Jesus made the following statements:

“Do not give what is holy to dogs, and do not throw your pearls before swine, or they will trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you to pieces.”

This is an interesting passage to say the least and even though it is one that is seldom preached or even talked about in the church, I believe I contains a principle that is important for every Christian to know.

The obvious message in this passage is that we should give what is holy and valuable to people who cannot and will not treat it as such. The fact is, the only thing any of us have that is holy is what was given to us from God as a result of Jesus Christ making his home in our hearts. And in Matthew 13:46 Jesus compared the kingdom of God to a man who found a “pearl of great price.” Its easy to see then, that what Jesus is actually telling us in this passage is that we must be selective in whom we share the things of God with – including the ministry of the Holy Spirit, and even the gospel of the kingdom itself.

As a Christian, you might wonder how Jesus could possibly make such a statement. Both our own hearts and other New Testament passages tell us that God wants everyone to hear and believe the good news of the Gospel. But Jesus makes it clear in this passage that there are certain people who are simply not able to receive the holy and valuable things of God with the respect they deserve. This does not necessarily mean that those people never will be fit to receive the “holy things” and “pearls” that we have to give, only that there are times when we must make the decision not to share the valuable treasure we have been given with someone who will not will not honor it.

One thing that stands out about this passage is that it presupposes that we will recognize these “dogs and “swine” that Jesus is referring to – which assumes that we will be both willing and qualified to make such a determination. But how exactly are we supposed to spot these “dogs” and “swine.” Ultimately the only way we will be able to exercise this level of discernment is through the leading of the Holy Spirit, but there is another passage that gives us some insight as to who these people may be.

In 2 Peter 2:20 Peter mentions certain people who had once “escaped the corruption of the world by knowing our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ” but who then were “again entangled in it and overcome.” He then goes on to say in verse 22 that such people are like the proverbial dog who “returns to his vomit” and the swine who has been washed and then “goes back to her wallowing in the mud.” The people described in these verses are those who, after tasting the things of God, have turned their back on them, and returned to their life of sin. Hebrews 6:4-6 describes such people, declaring that it is “impossible to renew them again to repentance.”

In essence this passage tells us that we need to be good stewards of the holy and precious things of God – not sharing them with those who will “trample them under feet.” But Jesus is also trying to protect us from such individuals as well – notice that he says after trampling God’s Holy things under their feet they will “Turn and tear you to pieces.” It is one thing to be persecuted for the gospel, and something else have someone who has no intention of hearing the gospel “tear you to pieces.”

God please give us the discernment to know when to share your word and life with others and when not to “give that which Holy to dogs” or “throw our pearls before swine.”