Nathan Slatter

Give not that which is holy to the dogs,
Neither cast your pearls before swine;
Lest perhaps they trample them under their feet,
And turning upon you they tear you.

Matthew said that in his 7th chapter. Most of the time, you’ll find this given to pastors about not preaching the good news to those who are not able to receive it.  And, in my life, I’ve heard it preached to the saints about becoming selective to who they attempt to save (or in the language of my upbringing – to witness to).

Recently, my wife revealed to me a completely different way of looking at this passage.

I was voicing my frustration of the inability to really find anyone nearby that truly understood my thoughts.  My wife understands them – even if she disagrees with some of them.  I was fussing about talking to people who I think are intelligent enough to understand them; in fact, I believe that many of them are more intelligent than myself.  Yet, when it comes down to it they are so enamored with their own idea of what life is that they are incapable of realizing the good news.

That is, the good news that we are individuals. We are sovereign. We are capable. We are intelligent. We need not the government.  We need no religious leaders. We need nothing except our own intelligence. And our engagement in any community should be entirely voluntary without question.  I may go on about that later.

What this parable means is that the thing that is holy could actually stand for that which one holds dear. And it isn’t so much about the love of that idea as much as the work that one goes through to get said idea. The story isn’t so much about insulting people as pigs or dogs, rather it is that these animals are incapable of understanding, in the case of the parable, “that which is holy” to the point that they will tread upon those words, will likely turn on the person speaking and tear them.

This means that the work that one has put into moving toward this idea should not be regarded lightly.  To speak these things to others should be done very minimally and with caution. To be very selective about who you say what to. Why? Because it is very possible that they will not accept your ideas as legitimate and turn against your words and you — sometimes, violently.

Because my wife has shown me a different way, I am careful about those things that I have painfully come to believe and understand.  You’ll find glimpses… sometimes more than glimpses but I have become quite selective.  I’m not going to argue for the sake of arguing. I will discuss for the purpose of educating myself.

I guess I’m rambling about all of this to try to say — be careful with whom you share your most treasured thoughts and philosophies.  That doesn’t mean that you can’t do so, nor that it is evil when you do, but life is a bit easier if you follow this parable.