Okay, confession time. I love the "Pearls Before Swine" comic strip. When I get the chance, I try to read it. I find it very funny, and yet, even within those little 3-4 frames, you can find a nugget of wisdom to mine out every once in a while.
When Jesus says that we should not cast our pearls before pigs (Matthew 7:6), we may sit back and wonder what exactly that means. From a literal sense, who would ever throw a valuable pearl into the mud with the pigs? None of us. That pearl has no value to the pigs. Though it may have great value to a person, to a pig, it's nothing more than a rock to ignore.
Thinking along those lines gives us a little insight into what this phrase may mean. Attempting to give something of value to someone who does not see it as having any value is throwing your pearls before the pigs. And this could apply to many things in our lives. The matter of importance in this seems to be how your "pearl" will be received.
Have you ever shared something with another person, and you could just tell that it had little or no value to them? That seems to be the kind of thing Jesus is referring to here. And sadly, the primary thing that Jesus may be talking about here is the value of our souls. There are many who may deny the existence of the soul, or who do not see the value of a soul that has been washed by the blood and sacrifice of Jesus. To them, to share the good news of Jesus with them, is nothing more or less than throwing your pearls into the pig pen.
This isn't confined merely to salvation issues, though. It can go for wisdom and knowledge in this world, as there will always be those who simply do not want to accept or receive such wisdom. It could be things of value which others don't see as such. Regardless of what the "pearl" is, there will always be those who find no value in that "pearl".
This seems to demonstrate the importance of getting to know the person before you place your valuable pearl into their hands. Rather than carelessly casting that valuable pearl away, getting to know the other person, and discovering what is of value to them, helps us know if they will find our pearl valuable or not. Even in a saying such as this one, Jesus points us to the need to be in relationship with another person, which is a significant part of our life in this world.
When Jesus says that we should not cast our pearls before pigs (Matthew 7:6), we may sit back and wonder what exactly that means. From a literal sense, who would ever throw a valuable pearl into the mud with the pigs? None of us. That pearl has no value to the pigs. Though it may have great value to a person, to a pig, it's nothing more than a rock to ignore.
Thinking along those lines gives us a little insight into what this phrase may mean. Attempting to give something of value to someone who does not see it as having any value is throwing your pearls before the pigs. And this could apply to many things in our lives. The matter of importance in this seems to be how your "pearl" will be received.
Have you ever shared something with another person, and you could just tell that it had little or no value to them? That seems to be the kind of thing Jesus is referring to here. And sadly, the primary thing that Jesus may be talking about here is the value of our souls. There are many who may deny the existence of the soul, or who do not see the value of a soul that has been washed by the blood and sacrifice of Jesus. To them, to share the good news of Jesus with them, is nothing more or less than throwing your pearls into the pig pen.
This isn't confined merely to salvation issues, though. It can go for wisdom and knowledge in this world, as there will always be those who simply do not want to accept or receive such wisdom. It could be things of value which others don't see as such. Regardless of what the "pearl" is, there will always be those who find no value in that "pearl".
This seems to demonstrate the importance of getting to know the person before you place your valuable pearl into their hands. Rather than carelessly casting that valuable pearl away, getting to know the other person, and discovering what is of value to them, helps us know if they will find our pearl valuable or not. Even in a saying such as this one, Jesus points us to the need to be in relationship with another person, which is a significant part of our life in this world.
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