“Do not give what is holy to the dogs; nor cast your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you in pieces. (Matthew 7:06, NKJV).
Just prior to this, Jesus taught on the value of sincerity and truth, and the tragic price of hypocrisy. Now he instructs us where NOT to aim either truth or sincerity.
Note the contrasting couplets He employs to make His rather startling point: holy versus dogs and pearls versus swine; each prefaced by verbs signifying willful action - give and cast. In first century Hebrew thinking, the contrasts were stark. Breaking them down a bit more, we see that:
'give' means to offer freely, without expectation or cost. It denotes an act preceded by intention and thought.
'holy' refers to a thing of awe, something that inspires awe, something 'awful' in the Old English sense. It is a fundamental characteristic of God Himself.
'dogs' are unclean animals according to Jewish law, metaphors for impure men, any and all who are unregenerate and willful sinners.
'cast' is a careless, almost thoughtless tossing forward of a thing with little or no consideration of where it falls.
'pearls' symbolize unique objects of great value; items hard to obtain and worthy of being guarded.
'swine' is yet another unclean beast that epitomizes spiritual hostility - like the pig Antiochus Ephiphanes sacrificed on the Temple altar in Jerusalem during the Macabbean period.
The meaning then is clear. Offering the glories of God's holy truth without regard to the recipient's likely reaction, or indiscriminately pouring out those things of infinite value to known hostile scoffers, is not only unwise and ineffective, but dangerous. In one sense, this is startling, as I mentioned. It raises the question, "You mean we are to prejudge someone's heart before we share the things of God?" No, we cannot know another's heart, but we can discern their actions, and that is the central point of this teaching.
It is futile to give to someone that which they have already proven to mock or despise. Imagine a person you know who is openly derisive of all things Christian, who makes a point whenever the opportunity arises of espousing his or her hostility to your faith. Now imagine that same person's likely response if you sincerely begin to share the gospel. It is not inconceivable to postulate an outright wrathful response, which could then in turn be used as an attack against your character, faith and/or Christ Himself. Not only have you handed that bellicose belligerent a weapon to use against you, but you have provided an opportunity for him to go public (lest they trample them under their feet). It is possible, of course, that one day, God might change the antagonist's heart, or use someone else to bring him into the kingdom, but for you to keep [giving] what is holy to the dogs is useless and potentially damaging. Neither you nor your target will benefit.
The same reasoning applies to indiscriminately broadcasting your beliefs to a person or crowd; not caring much at all about how it is received. That too is a waste and risks being harmful (they turn and tear you in pieces).
Beloved, we are at war behind enemy lines. We have been given gifts of spiritual discernment for precisely the purpose of making the most effective use of our time, energy and resources.
While we are commanded to preach and teach the gospel, and do the work of evangelism, even the most equipped and qualified soldiers are trained to know when not to enter into a hopeless battle that will neither advance the cause, nor demolish the stronghold of the Enemy.
Of course we are to openly and sincerely share what God has done in history, in the world, in our hearts, and in our lives. Of course we are to give every sincere seeker a reason for the hope that lies within us. Of course we are not to prejudge someone's attitude or likely response if we have no reason to know that he is already in the pack or herd of the unclean. But when we have every rational reason to believe that doing these things are guaranteed to provide an opportunity for senseless attack, we are to refrain.
It only makes sense as a good steward of those gifts we have been given. The truth of God is holy and priceless and should be not be given or cast before those who have demonstrated an open and active hostility to Christ. We will not save them by doing so. We will provoke them into retaliation, or provide them with an excuse to go on the offensive.
Dogs and swine are very recognizable. They do not camouflage well, are not particularly stealthy, nor are they interested in disguising their vicious contempt. That is their essential nature. It is what they do. Therefore, choose your target carefully and aim with precision, otherwise you are just wasting ammunition. Or worse, setting yourself up to be struck with the ricochet.
