{"id":97845,"date":"2026-09-09T10:18:12","date_gmt":"2026-09-09T15:18:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/?p=97845"},"modified":"2026-09-09T10:18:12","modified_gmt":"2026-09-09T15:18:12","slug":"pigs-and-pearls","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/pigs-and-pearls\/","title":{"rendered":"Pigs and Pearls"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n\t<p>by Chadwick Brewer<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>&#8220;<em>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<\/em>&#8221; (Matthew 7:6).<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>What a struggle it is to know when and how to apply this verse! How do I know whether I am being a good influence or giving what is holy to dogs? How do I know if I am fighting the good fight of faith or casting my pearls before pigs? Perhaps we can ask some questions:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Are they seeking or striving for God?<\/li>\n<li>Are they receptive or appreciative of the light, guidance, or wisdom you are giving?<\/li>\n<li>Are they changing? Or are they stubborn and obstinate?<\/li>\n<li>Do they turn and attack you?<\/li>\n<li>Do they influence you while you are attempting to influence them?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>These things are not always clear-cut. Jesus does not make it so. We are to use wisdom. But remember, wisdom guides rather than emotions. This is a struggle because we want to devote our time, effort, and energy to those we love, but our emotions cannot be our guiding light. Love pulls us to care about others, but wisdom must help us decide how to invest ourselves in them.<\/p>\n<p>Jesus does not devote all his time to his unbelieving family nor the unbelieving leaders of the Jews. He did not avoid them or &#8220;cut them off,&#8221; either, but neither did He devote Himself exclusively to them. He devoted his time and his energies toward those who were going to be changed by the light rather than attack the light. As Jesus points out, not everyone should receive equal amounts of your time, energy, and attention.<\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>by Chadwick Brewer &#8220;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&#8221; (Matthew 7:6). What a struggle it is to know when and how to apply this verse! How do I know whether I am being a good influence&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_seo_schema_type":"","footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[27],"tags":[255],"class_list":["post-97845","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-article","tag-tolerance"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":93487,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/when-wisdom-walks-away\/","url_meta":{"origin":97845,"position":0},"title":"When Wisdom Walks Away","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"January 26, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"by Cleve Stafford There's a certain kind of argument that never ends well. No matter how calmly you speak, how clear your reasoning is, or how sincere your intentions are, the other person will not act accordingly. Proverbs 29:9 lays it out plainly: \"If a wise man has an argument\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Article&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":64853,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/jamaica-patois-wisdom-clothing\/","url_meta":{"origin":97845,"position":1},"title":"Jamaica Patois Wisdom &#8211; Clothing","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"December 23, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"by Jefferson David Tant The Jamaican Patois dialect is colorful, unique, and humorous. It is my desire to share some of the philosophy shown in this mix of colorful phrases that are witty as well as thought-provoking. I hope the readers both profit and enjoy. In my quarter-century plus of\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Article&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/pigs-in-mud-300x200.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":33516,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/dont-throw-your-heart-to-dogs\/","url_meta":{"origin":97845,"position":2},"title":"Don&#8217;t Throw Your Heart to Dogs","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"March 22, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"by Raymond Gonzalez Sentry Magazine, March 2001 \"Give not that which is holy unto the dogs, neither cast ye your pearls\u00a0before swine, lest they\u00a0trample them under their\u00a0feet, and turn again and\u00a0rend you\" (Matthew 7:6). Not in my wildest dreams as a babe in Christ, did I think to apply this\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Article&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/dog-300x252.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":92031,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/the-restless-son\/","url_meta":{"origin":97845,"position":3},"title":"The Restless Son","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"November 10, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"by Terry Wane Benton Why was he not happy at home? Jesus tells the story of a son who became restless and felt too controlled by the family rules (Luke 15:11-32). Sometimes a child can be foolish and self-centered, thinking the grass is surely greener where they can do as\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Article&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":36460,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/where-did-the-demons-go-after-the-swine-died\/","url_meta":{"origin":97845,"position":4},"title":"Where did the demons go after the swine died?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"January 14, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Dear Sir, This is a question that I often wonder about. We are all familiar with the incident of Jesus sending Legion into the herd of pigs because the demons didn't want Jesus to send them into the abyss (Luke 8:31). However once Legion went into the pigs the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Answer&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":59405,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/sand-and-pearls\/","url_meta":{"origin":97845,"position":5},"title":"Sand and Pearls","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"February 19, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"by\u00a0Netagene Kirkpatrick, August 18, 2009 If God can take a grain of sand And change it to a pearl - Some tiny lifeless silicone He made when He made the world, Then why don't you understand the thought That you, a living soul Might change from whatever sad state you're\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Article&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/02\/pearl.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/97845","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=97845"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/97845\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=97845"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=97845"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=97845"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}