Question: What does it mean that we are commanded by Christ to not "cast our pearls before pigs" or "give to dogs what is holy" (Matthew 7:6)? I recognize the "pearl" is the gospel and "pigs" and "dogs" are non-believers who resist the Gospel to our faces. Does this mean what I think it does: that we are to cease and desist preaching the Gospel to those in our spheres of influence who react to it with scorn, mocking, and/or contempt? The book of Acts shows that Paul refused to preach to the Jews after they kept rejecting the Gospel. Instead, they preached to the gentiles, who believed (Acts 18:5-11).
What does this look like in real life and in our spheres? What implications does it have in some of our relationships with hostile non-believers? Didn't we all once respond to the Gospel hostily and with scorn and contempt when we were enemies of God ourselves? What do y'all think? What does scripture say?
1 comment:
I know I'm responding way after the original, but I got an insight into your comments last night. I don't think that Jesus was only referring to non-believers.
I think He was referring to the Pharisees, religous leaders, and self-righteous sitting in the pews thinking that they are, of all people, most definitely not swine. Don't cast your pearls of Gospel before them because they have enough pearls, or so they think.
Jesus regularly cast the deepest revelations about Himself and the kingdom before the non-believers and sinners. His single clearest statement of claiming to be the Messiah was made to the woman at the well, "I Who speak to you am He."
So I think that we are called to cast our pearls before the sinners, the lowly, the dirty, the unclean, just like Jesus did. Perhaps when we see who the real swine are, we will learn better how to love those Jesus loved.
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