I always wanted a clearer understanding on Matthew 7:6: “Do not give dogs what is scared; do not throw your pearls to pigs. If you do, they may trample them under their feet, and then turn and tear you to pieces.”
It wasn’t until yesterday I finally understood what it truly mean to my life. I have been giving what is scared to dogs and throwing my pearls to pigs. I have been wasting my time and energy on people who bring negative spirits and energy to my life. Folks who only want to be around me for fleshly gain, (money, material things, self). Those who I should have never been in contact with (whom God said stay away from). Individuals who aren’t any good for me. Those who I allow to “play with my emotions” and leave me upset . So I did a little research on what it truly mean to give scared things to dogs and pearls to swine and how we can protect ourselves from the continuing cycle of self destruction.
Question: WHAT IS SACRED AND PRECIOUS THAT SHOULD BE KEPT OFF PEOPLE THAT IS PORTRAYED AS ‘DOGS AND PIGS’?
1. Don’t waste what is holy, scared on people who are unholy
Holy= flesh offered in sacrifice
Scared= Holy, set apart, consecrated, hallowed.
What makes a person set apart?
1. Awareness and acceptance of God’s grace
2. Knowing your purpose
3. Walking after the Spirit
You give what is scared when you:
• Allow people to steal your joy.
• To give up your personal vision and mission in order to be accepted.
• Seek approval of Man.
• Allow the disappointment affect your mind, living, or get you off your path
• People who will crush your dream as soon as you share it with
them. (Dream Killers)
• Have Nothing Good to say, only negative
• Walk in footsteps of others.
2. Don’t throw your pearls to pigs
Throwing Pearls to pigs mean:
• Living Unequally Yoked
• To allow familiarity that can bring contempt, with those who do not value your faith
• Fail to live in the world but not of the world.
• You lose sight of your purpose
Pearls are precious gems found in shell fish. They are items of high value, Rare.
Pearls differ from other gemstones in that they're not mined from rock. A pearl is produced when an irritant such as sand gets caught inside the oyster. To protect itself, the oyster secretes a substance akin to mucus. This substance builds up around the sand and hardens. The end result is a pearl.
Irritant= nuisance, evil, pain, sorrow, heart ache, upset, joy killers, the feeling of no hope for tomorrow, trouble you cause by not following God’s Word
The Irritant is what we go through to make us better or “What Doesn't Kill You Only Makes You Stronger” (Friedrich Nietzsche)
The longer a pearl stays inside an oyster, the larger it becomes. More expensive and more precious. So the bigger the test the bigger the testimony.
Protection (Armor of God -Ephesians 6:13-21) God has provided protection for us, and he challenges us to suit up!
Take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil (irritant) day, and having done all, to stand. (6:13)
Irritant + Protect= Pearls
Or
Test+ Full Armor of God= Testimony
Fortunately for those who favor this gem, there are now farms in which the irritant is deliberately injected into the mollusk to produce the pearl. These pearls are known as cultured. When pearls are made without the benefit of a mollusk, they're considered man-made (things of Flesh not spirit)
Like the cultured pearl (man-made), when you entertain the flesh or allow negative people around you, you allow yourself to be trampled and later torn down. When you wasting your gifts and talents on people who don’t deserve them you can be put down, let down, misunderstood and taken for granted.
If you do, they may trample them under their feet, and then turn and tear you to pieces.
• Trample- is to crush, flatten, walk on, stamp on, suppress, look down.
• They will turn and tear you to pieces – Cause you to lose confidence
in God and in yourself, lose your vision and sense of purpose.
WHO ARE THE PEOPLE THAT JESUS CHRIST DESCRIBES AS DOGS AND PIGS?
• People who don’t acknowledge the presence of God.
• People who look down on, reject, oppose, and abuse what is consecrated to God.
• People who are wicked, troublemakers, and mockers (Psalm 1:1).
• People who repeat the same mistakes for they do not review or reflect
on their actions.
• People who are self seeking.
• People who will continue doing that, which hurts, humiliate others without any consideration of the harm done to self and the others.
• Pigs cannot distinguish a piece of stone from a piece of diamond, so are people who have unsorted values.
Apostle Paul says about such people; ‘. . . many live as enemies of the cross of Christ. .9 Their destiny is destruction, their god is their stomach, and their glory is in their shame. Their mind is on earthly things (Phil 3:18-20).
A Dog
1. Eats unclean things
o It is not good to take the children's bread, and cast it to the dogs. But she said, Certainly, Lord; but even the dogs eat of the crumbs which fall from their master's table (Matt. 15:26, 27; Mark 7:27, 28);
2. Bark at men and bite them
3. Destroy and chew on things
Dog someone- treat like dirty, harmful, lowly and cheating
Or It means to be at their heels, bothering someone to be too close, to not allow breathing room or personal space. Like a puppy dog following its owner all over the place and getting under foot.
A Pig
Eats unclean things. Consume both plants and animals so it will eat anything.
If someone is describe as a pig they are sloppy, lazy, nasty, no good, good for nothing
Some Men are mostly called pigs because of the way they treat women. They say or do anything. Only for self
What can we do?
Stop giving our attention to the ones causing us pain and focus on Godly gain!
We can Suit up! Put on whole Armor of God! (Eph 6:13)
Ephesians 6:14-21
Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, 15 and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. 16 In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. 17 Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.
Pray in the Spirit
Be Alert
Pray for others
Be Grounded and Rooted
Be Ready for Battle
