Hating the Holy - Martin Wiles

Don’t give pearls to swine! They will trample the pearls, then turn and attack you. Matthew 7:6 NLT

As far as he knew, he was the only Christian in his office.

John was fresh out of college and had just taken a promising job in his hometown. Not ashamed that he was a believer, he quickly decorated his small cubicle with Christian décor. Imagine his surprise when his boss approached him and told him to remove it. The excitement over his new opportunity soon digressed as the antagonism against him progressed. The actions and words of his co-workers demonstrated they hated the holy. He stayed, though, and continued to cast pearls before them.

I’ve owned a few hogs in my lifetime. They are avid eaters and cared for nothing except food and slop to eat, dirt to root in, and a mud hole to wallow in. Had I thrown anything of value in the pen along with their food, they would have trampled it. Trying to give them what they didn’t care about would have wasted my time.

Jesus wasn’t giving a command to pig farmers. Nor was he teaching we shouldn’t share with those who are unreceptive. Instead, he warned about what to expect when we toss the gospel to those who aren’t interested . . . to those content with their evil ways.

Selfishness and contentment with filth are in a hog’s nature. But there is good in the hog when the dirt is washed away—everything, in fact, some say, except the squeal.

Changing a hog’s nature is almost impossible. Changing ours is impossible, too. Like the hog, we’re quite content to wallow in the filth of sin and disobedience. I, too, have cast pearls before some people who had no interest.

God, however, can give anyone a new nature—a nature that loves pearls and all things holy . . . a heart that drives us toward obedience to God’s commands rather than mud.

Wisdom is necessary to know where to cast our pearls. While everyone needs to hear about God’s love, allowing God to guide us helps us throw them where they will reap the most results.

If God has changed your hate for the holy, how can you cast that same pearl before others?

Father, give us wisdom to cast the pearl of the gospel where it will garner the most fruit. 

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