Pearls Before Swine

PEARLS BEFORE SWINE

"Give not that which is holy unto the dogs, neither cast ye your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn again and rend you." (Matt. 7:6) In this passage of Scripture, Jesus was instructing the disciples to discern moral distinctions and not allow those who reject the invitation of Christ to treat precious things as junk. He used the animals dogs and swine (which are pigs), because both animals were despised by the Jews. He used these animals as representations of unholy people. We give the good news to people who are not believers in hope that God will give them open eyes and accept Christ's invitation, but the acceptance rate is never 100%, by any means!
Some "Christians" are just hogsfat on the hoof, and the real Christians can't tell immediately. The false Christians may even be convinced they are real Christians, and they don't know, either! We talk about all the things that are precious in the bible, and they may go along with us, but they haven't accepted His invitation. So we may share the promises of God with them, and not realize they are not one of us who have accepted His invitation!
Who else are "swine" and "dogs"? "He that reproveth a scorner getteth to himself shame: and he that rebuketh a wicked man getteth himself a blot. Reprove not a scorner, lest he hate thee: rebuke a wise man, and he will love thee." (Prov. 9:7 - 8) Unbelief knows no denomination, nor is restricted to certain religions. Many muslims will scorn, but not all. Buddhists may scorn, but not all. It's an attitude; a state of mind. A wickedness and hatefulness that is closeminded, and will not receive correction, but rather will turn on the wise and their wisdom with insult and their own rebuke toward they who show the "pearls"!
You may wonder how scorners and the wicked got the way they are, and the answer is that they started out that way! "A wise son heareth his father's instruction: but a scorner heareth not rebuke." (Prov. 13:1) Children who have not been raised right will grow up rebellious, wise in their own eyes, because they have been neglected in discipline by the parent(s). Bad parenting rears bad children. We are to spank the sheol out of them! "Withhold not correction from the child: for if thou beatest him with the rod, he shall not die. Thou shalt beat him with the rod, and shalt deliver his soul from hell." (Prov. 23:13 - 14) Foolishness needs to be driven out of a child when they are young! "Foolishness is bound in the heart of a child; but the rod of correction shall drive it far from him." (Prov. 22:15) Good parenting rears godly children - "Therefore shall ye lay up these My words in your heart and in your soul, and bind them for a sign upon your hand, that they may be as frontlets between your eyes. And ye shall teach them your children, speaking of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, when thou liest down, and when thou risest up." (Deut. 11:18 - 19) Here is the failure of many a parent; that they did not raise their child or children in the word of the Lord, in the holy Bible, and thereby did they raise their children to be dogs and swine as adults, because they ignored this command to teach their children the righteousness contained in God's word!
"Speak not in the ears of a fool: for he will despise the wisdom of thy words." (Prov. 23:9) You can even speak secular wisdom in the ears of a fool, and they will not heed it. I remember a woman younger than me fitting this. She would always ask me advice, presenting two paths for her to travel to reach her goal. i would give her that there is a path, sometimes one she would present, sometimes one she hadn't considered, that would cause her to reach the desired end, and don't you know she would thank me and never take my advice? And she always wondered later why she was in the messes she was in! For a time I was patient with her, and finally I one day asked her, "Why do you so often come to me for advice, when you always later fail to take it? My breath has been so much wasted on unheeded advice, you are like smoking a cigarette; the inhale is a waste of energy." This is the same case for fools, because they may hear whatever biblical wisdom you may speak, but they just let it go in one ear and out the other, and they prove to be seeds eaten up by birds as soon as you let go of them for planting. "And He spake many things unto them in parables, saying, 'Behold, a sower went forth to sow; And when he sowed, some seeds fell by the way side, and the fowls came and devoured them.'" (Matt. 13:3 - 4)
Fools and scorners are the opposite of sheep (clean, godly people). Now sheep are characterized by the words of David when he wrote, "Let the righteous smite me; it shall be a kindness: and let him reprove me; it shall be an excellent oil, which shall not break my head: for yet my prayer also shall be in their calamities." (Psa. 141:5) What David is saying here is that advice from the righteous is welcome, because it profitable reproof. The pearls of the righeous keep us from paths that lead to evil. Wickedness can be subtle, a slow slippery slide away from God. The wicked are already enjoying being away from God. They like it there, and there from comes the scorn and disdain of Godly wisdom!
"Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault, ye which are spiritual, restore such an one in the spirit of meekness; considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted." (Gal. 6:1) This brings up a point; we need cast our pearls generously before our family in Christ. True family will always accept reproof when it is due, especially when edified with Scripture. All Scripture is for correction, as it is written, but how we present it is another matter. For the wicked, the backslidden, the stiffnecked, and the wandering family membe, each requires a different attitude of application of Scripture. We must discern whether to deal rightly using outright rebuke or using lovingkindness, or tempered rebuke, case by case. Family requires employing private lovingkindness when casting the pearls of correction in a fault, while the openly wicked may require straightforward rebuke. Those known to be wicked may be in a God given situation wherein they are overcome with contriteness, and they are beaten, broken, and these are ripe for pearls that lead to salvation!
So we need to discern dogs and swine, and treat our children as the gifts from God that they are, give them a godly upbringing, and not spoil them in their enjoyment of rebellion and foolishness, but rather drive it out of them with the rod of instruction properly applied as needed. There is a time when dogs and swine are ready to transform, and at that moment, they are ready for the holy pearls to be cast before them, that they might accept salvation because their eyes have been opened!