Matthew 7:6 (NIV)
"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 then turn and tear you to pieces."
Yesterday during prayer meeting, I was reading a little bit of Matthew 7.. I was reading verses 1-6 about judging one another, and then I came across verse 6. And for some reason I was stuck on it for a while. I kept reading it over and over again trying to make sense out of what this verse was trying to say. It's a really strange verse in that it doesn't quite fit in with all the rest of the passage. Everything seems to be pretty straightforward until that verse. So I asked Hannah, and then we asked Joe and Esther. I learned that it is good to refer to different versions of the Bible, because they word it differently sometimes for my better comprehension.
Matthew 7:6 (New Living Translation)
"Don’t waste what is holy on people who are unholy. Don’t throw your pearls to pigs! They will trample the pearls, then turn and attack you."
The dogs and the pigs are the worldly things. Dogs don't care what you feed them whether they come from somewhere nice or the trash. In the same way, people of this world do not appreciate the things of God, our "pearls." So although witnessing to people, spreading the gospel and knowledge of God is necessary, sometimes putting in so much of our time, our energy, and life is not what God may command of us at the time. Although we may see it as a good thing, God has a place and time for everything. It kind of goes along with the story of King Saul. Although he thought his actions were justified because they were not morally "wrong", it wasn't what God commanded of him; therefore he had disobeyed God. Sometimes we get carried away in our fervor to serve people, and God draws a line to how much we should do. When we cross that line is what verse 6 is trying to warn us about. Interesting!
