I sometimes get questions about this website: “Why is it called that?”
The more common reading from Matthew 7 is “pearls before swine” as Jesus tells his disciples there are people who shouldn’t be given beautiful pearls because they will be squandered.
The reason http://www.PearlsAndSwineSite.com is named that is availability. PearlsBeforeSwine just wasn’t available. And “site” was plugged on the end because PearlsAndSwine.com wasn’t available either. In fact, if you follow that internet URL you will have the opportunity to shop for British clothing. Pretty weird, huh?
But, this blog isn’t about that.
This blog is about Matthew 7.
What Does it Mean?
Pearls are beautiful jewels that are not easy to come by having been created in the shell of an oyster. They are valuable and sought after.
In Matthew 7:6 Jesus uses the pearl analogy to point to the value of the Gospel, or good news. In chapter 13 He is teaching using various parables and in one, uses the pearl. There he says:
“Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls, 46 who, on finding one pearl of great value, went and sold all that he had and bought it.”
Matthew 13:45-46 (ESV)
The pearl is an analogy of great worth—kingdom of heaven in this case—that is worth doing all we can to attain.
My use of this concept for this website comes from Matthew 7 where that value is rejected and scorned by those who could gain much from it.
The Mission: Our Experience
My family and I had been working in Africa with an American mission agency for seven years when a friend shared this passage with us to help us understand how to respond to the mission leadership.
The leaders had lied, harshly criticized, and shown over and over their racist and arrogant character. The CEO was known to communicate primarily through in-person meetings, not talk face-to-face in a positive way, but stay away from any written records of his deceptions.
Our friend pointed out this verse to us as we were responding to the CEO’s request (command) that we meet with him following our resignation from the mission. The idea was that we should refrain from giving pearls—exhortation to the leader—to him as he would “turn and attack” us.
“Do not give dogs what is holy, and do not throw your pearls before pigs, lest they trample them underfoot and turn to attack you.”
Matthew 7:6 (ESV)
The CEO was known to use people’s words to turn on them. He would simply lie and justify and blame shift when exhorted.
We were concerned that he would simply kick us off the mission then and there and we would be stuck half way around the world from our home. Our children were in their last two months of class time in the mission school.
Yet the CEO said he wanted to hear why we were leaving.
To us it was asking us to stick our necks out with the possibility of being chopped off.
Some Analysis
The “pearl” in its Greek meaning includes “word of great value” according to Strongs Concordance.
That is the point of an exhortation. Exhorting means to seek the repentance of another. It is to help them see their sin and turn from it. And in turning, there is great blessing (Deuteronomy 32).
Exhortation is a “word of great value” because it is intended to right a relationship of its recipient with the Lord of the universe.
It is foolish to refuse an exhortation—that is accurate and right—as blessing comes by seeking forgiveness and turning from sin. And so it is a pearl of great price.
Shattering
Unfortunately, there are people who not only “trample [those pearls] underfoot,” —in essence just rejecting them—but they “turn to attack you” when you share them.
This was the eye-opening reading of this passage that caught us off guard when our friend shared the passage with us. We had always read the passage going as far as trampling underfoot, but had not really thought much about the “turn and attack” part. And, I had always put it in the context of evangelism, not exhortation.
That is the context of the verse.
It follows the encouragement Jesus gives to seek the repentance of a fellow believer with these words:
You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother’s eye.
Matthew 7:5 (ESV)
Jesus tells his disciples to humbly approach a brother who has sinned. This should “soften” the exhortation and make it more receivable by the sinner.
Some of the English words that Strongs uses to define the Greek words ῥήσσω and ῥήγνυμι—the words used by Jesus translated “attack” —are:
- Break
- Crack
- Wreck
- Shattering to minute fragments
- Lacerate
- Rend
- Tear
Pretty strong terms.
Pretty Strong Terms
How often have you seen someone act this way following an exhortation?
It really isn’t common. Maybe they listen and then ignore your words. Maybe they take your words to heart. But rarely—I would guess—do they turn and attack you.
Keep in mind that 7:6 follows on the heals of verses that tell you how to exhort someone who has sinned against you. Humbly and graciously.
Some people are attacked because they have gone on the attack in the first place with their exhortation. Part of loving your neighbor is following 7:1-5 in exhortation. Consider your own sin and treat your brother as you would want to be treated when you have sinned . . . not with an angry and bitter attack.
So, “throwing your pearls before the swine” is Jesus’ way of saying there are times when we are not required to challenge someone who has sinned against us—as He instructs in Matthew 18:15.
Because they are swine-like in their character. They will turn and attack you maliciously. They will not listen and take it to heart but rather cause you greater harm.
Take the Advice
We took the advice of this passage and kept our mouths shut as our CEO grilled us. In the end, he instructed us to be off the mission following the closing of our childrens’ classes (and ours as college faculty) and before he left for the summer.
In the months that followed we continued to learn about abusive leadership and how Jesus’ words in Matthew 7:6 spoke volumns into our lives and those who suffer under toxic leadership.
Do not throw your pearls before pigs.
An added note on the Website: Because of my upcoming book, “Toxic Leadership: Power, Abuse, and Healing in Christian Organizations,” I have created a new web address for this site as the author — http://www.KellyDehnert.com.