Throwing Pearls to the Pigs
how do we learn to have the grace to hold back when we get the urge to give the pearls of our heart to the pigs in our lives? wisdom from the Gospel for modern times.
Matthew 7:6 :: Don’t throw your pearls to pigs! They will trample the pearls, then turn and attack you.
Reader, what do you think of this Bible verse, and what do you think it tells us?
Pearls represent a highly valuable possession. Pigs, considered unclean animals, scavenge for food, they eat voraciously, they have a high level of intelligence and little capacity for loyalty, and they can become aggressive when given some inedible things in the place of food. Throwing prized possessions such as pearls to unclean animals like pigs speaks to the foolishness of wasting precious resources on unworthy situations. Giving voracious creatures things they can’t consume or use merely antagonises them.
Throwing pearls to pigs doesn’t represent an act of love, rather, it represents a waste of precious resources, and maybe also unhealthy self indulgence. Pigs can’t appreciate the value of pearls, they don’t care about pearls and valuable treasure and sacred things. They churn the landscape into muck and mud and they trample things under their hooves in search for things to eat. If we throw our treasured pearls at pigs, we will lose our treasure in the mud — we will find it difficult and maybe impossible to retrieve the precious treasure we gave away to the pigs.
Likewise with humans of piggish character—when we share our heart with them, they trample it underfoot, they cannot and will not appreciate the value of the treasured thing we’ve offered them. Jesus reminds us of our worth and instructs us to guard ourselves from those who would trample our hearts, mock and abuse use and treat us with apathy and ignorance and even contempt. In this passage, Jesus teaches us about navigating relationships with others. He warns against pouring our hearts out to just anyone, he reminds us to guard against sharing the most sacred and valuable parts of ourselves with those unable to appreciate it and received it with compassion and grace and respect. This passage reinforces the importance of boundaries and discernment in relationship.
With whom should you share your heart, reader? How do you come to know? Discernment and also wisdom can help us determine how and where to devote our time, energy, resources, love.
This verse comes from The Sermon on the Mount.
Often it’s helpful when doing Bible study to take a look at the verses before and after the particular verse we have placed under the microscope. Prior to this passage in line 6, Jesus instructs His disciples about engaging in self examination and addressing one’s own flaws prior to presuming to point out and correct the flaws of another. Jesus warns that g-d will judge us as we judge others. Following line 6, Jesus preaches about asking for what we need. Jesus urges us to genuinely seek the things which we need. A humble heart knows when to seek in earnest and it knows when to ask for help.
Gospel of Matthew
Judging Others
Chapter 7 “Do not judge, or you too will be judged. 2 For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.
3 “Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? 4 How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? 5 You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.
6 “Do not give dogs what is sacred; do not throw your pearls to pigs. If you do, they may trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you to pieces.
Ask, Seek, Knock
7 “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. 8 For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.
Taken together, what can we take away from this part of The Sermon on the Mount? Let’s first summarise the passage we examined here today. Don’t judge lest you be judged, address your own shortcomings before correcting the shortcomings of anyone else. Don’t share your treasures with those who lack the capacity to receive them, you will lose your treasure and maybe even suffer abuse as a result. Ask for help when you need it. When you need something, seek in earnest for that something. These lines from this passage at the opening of chapter 7 of the Gospel of Matthew speak to the cultivation of the following fruits of the Holy Spirit: self awareness, discernment, wisdom, humility, steadfast devotion and discipline.
Reader, put another way, Matthew 7:6 looks and sounds like the quote below.
“Stop trying to explain yourself. People only understand things from their level of perception; within the parameters of their agreement with reality. Save your energy.”
Questions for Reflection
Have you experienced a time when you shared your heart with someone who could not receive it?
In retrospect, did warning signs exist which you didn’t see or ignored?
What motivated you to give the treasure of your heart away to someone who lacked the capacity to respect and appreciate it?
What did you learn about yourself from that experience?
What did you learn about human relationships from that experience?
What words of comfort and wisdom would your present day self have to offer your past self, in the context of this experience?
It happened to me once in high school many years ago - and a great crisis ensued soon after. I was too young and naive to have known that the girl I considered my good friend was actually an academic rival in disguise who was simply collecting ‘intel’ to gain leverage against me. It was a classical case of betrayal resulting in full-blown bullying typical of any high school environment, but it taught me to invest more time and intelligence in my choice of friends and confidantes from there on.