New Testament 69

Matthew 7:6

A very brief passage.  I’ll simply reproduce it here:

“Do not give dogs what is holy; and do not throw your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under foot and turn to attack you.”

It sounds harsh.

Comparing unbelievers to pigs (unclean and rather abhorred under Jewish law) and to the feral dogs that, still today, maraud in packs in cities and towns throughout the Middle East, is pretty rough.

But I think it’s plainly not referring simply to those who don’t believe, and certainly not to those who, in the currently fashionable euphemism, are merely “asking questions.”

It’s referring to the cynical and the bitter, to those who mock and jeer.

And it’s sound counsel for believers who blog or comment online.  Certain people — and we all know this — simply aren’t worth attempting serious conversation with about sacred things.  It’s best to wish them well and withdraw.

I’ve had the experience, and I’ll bet that I’m not alone in it, of having tried to share something sacred, very important, personal, only to have the audience, or somebody in it, deride my offering.  In almost every case, I’ve done so against strong promptings not to do it, and I try to take those prompting more seriously now.

There are times for sharing, and there are times for remaining silent.  There are times for engaging, and there are times for backing away.

We can hope that those inclined to sneer and to mock will, somebody, be in a more receptive frame of mind.  In the meantime, it won’t do them much good for you to try to speak to them of sacred things.  And it will only reap frustration for you.  And sometimes, as it has in my case, a strong rebuke from the Spirit.