elijah23 said:
Do not give dogs what is holy; and do not throw your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under foot and turn to attack you. Matt 7:6 RSV
Should we spread the gospel to everyone right away, or should we use discretion?
An interesting question for sure.
It has been said that: "You can't preach to an empty stomach."
Although I do not believe that to be true in itself, it is a very good reminder in the importance of giving that "Cup of water" to those in need.
Let me share my take on this verse as the Lord showed it to me.
In context let's look at Mat (7:7):
Ask and ye shall receive, seek and ye shall find, and knock and the door will be open onto you.
I used to think, quite naively, that:
Asking meant - Asking God for whatever, in faith, and we shall receive.
Seeking meant - If you lose your car keys, or whatever, seek them and you will find.
Knocking meant - If your looking for a job, you need to be knocking on doors in order for one to open.
In July 2000, the Lord corrected me on that by showing me what it meant.
The Asking part covers every aspect of life: Material, Enotional, Spiritual, Financial, etc.
He will not deny us just as we would not deny our own children. "Who among would give a stone to his son when he asks for bread"
However as long as we remain in the Asking mode or focus, we remain in a relationship that is Child\Father relationship. Children always ask. Babies cry for food, care, warmth, etc. A toddler asks for a cookie. A teenager asks for the car keyes + $10 for gas and $10 for pizza. And even as adults we asks God constantly for things, such as the bare necessities. This type od behavior keeps us in a Child\Father relationship WHILE God is wishing for us to GROW UP.
SIDEBAR {When my children were growing up, they would always come to me with all kinds of petitions. Ex. Can I get a new bookbag for school? Please Dad could I get that new GI Joe? etc. etc. -- I would often answer something along the lines of "We'll see!" I would say that because I may have been unsure I had the money or time or some other reason to actualy get them what they wanted.
Howerver on the occasions that I new for sure that I could come through on their request, I would look at them straight in the eyes and with a wink I would say:
"Trust your Dad!"
God says the same to us when it comes to the necessities of life. He says He feeds the birds and clothes the flowers of the fields. So relax and
"Trust your Dad!"}
God is going to take care of us in every way and so He wants us to grow out of the "Child like" relationship and become MATURE in our faith.
That is where the SEEKING comes into play.
Since everything we need is covered in the Asking part, what is Seeking all about?
Mat (6:33) "But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you. "
God is looking for seekers, those who want to go beyond the Asking, not that there's anything wrong with asking, but the mature one will learn to "Trust hisDad" and move on to seeking more of His Kingdom and His Righteousness, knowing full well that "all these things shall be added unto you".
There is certainly more to God than just what He supply regarding our needs.
His immeasurable Love, the Beauty of His Grace, His never ending compassion, the Wonder of His knowledge, and infinitely more.
SIDEBAR - I once was making some muffins from scratch, on one of my off days from work. In front of me were 4 cups of flour, a cup of sugar, some salt and baking soda. When I mixed all 4 ingredients, which were all white, together Itought to myself: "I can't distinguish salt from sugar or flour from soda."
That's when the Lord said to me: "I can reach into that mixture and pick out every grain respectively."
I was totally blessed. Now, don't get me wrong I knew all along that God could do that but at that moment it was just a wonderful revelation.
When we take the time to seek Him, God is going to reveals amd disclose some wonderful things about himself.
1 Cor. (2:9) states: “Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor have entered into the heart of man the things which God has prepared for those who love Him.â€
Psalm (25:14) “The secret of the LORD is with those who fear Him and He will show them His covenant.â€
Isa (45:3) “I will give you the treasures of darkness and hidden riches of secret places that you may know that I, the LORD who call you by your name am the God of Israel.â€
Isa (48:6) “You have heard; See all this. And will you not declare it? I have made you hear new things from this time. Even hidden things and you did not know them.†NKJV
1Co (2:7) “But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, the hidden wisdom which God ordained before the ages for our glory.â€
These wonderful secrets turn out to be "Nuggets of Gold" or Pearls of great price" and although they are meant for our enjoyment and revelation at the time, God will expect us to deliver (Share) them with others. (Part of being His hand extended).
This is where the KNOCKING comes into play.
If we ask Him or wait upon Him, He will direct us on where to deliver these wonderful pearls. He will show us the doors and they will open.
But has it ever happened to you that God shows you something wonderful and when you share it with someone else, it's as if it went right over their head? All they can say is: "Oh, that's nice, so how are you petunias coming along.?"
This would be like throwing your Pearl before swine.
SIDEBAR - I once was asked by my church to be part of a committee who would reach out to those who had frequented our church in the past but for whatever reason were not attending anymore. I Acquiesced. On my list of contacts was a young girl ,who through many hardships of family life, had attended the church and had subsequently cease coming. She had suffered in many ways at the hands of her Christian peers and therefore had given up on church.
One morning, as I was in devotions, she came to my mind so I began to pray for her. As I was praying the Lord said to me:"Tell her about the muffins!"
I was bewildered. So I asked Him:"You want me to tell her that, out of a white mixture of 4 ingredients, You are capable of extracting each grain so as to form 4 new piles?"
HE said:"No, no, that was for you. I want you to tell her that the mixture is like her whole life. And just as I can see every little grain in that mixture, I saw every moment of her life when she cried herself to sleep, every time she raged at Me, every time she felt so lonely and without friends, etc, etc. And I want you to tell her that I was there beside at all times and that I LOVE HER"
Well to say the least, when I shared that with her I walked through a door that did not have swine on the other side.
Blessings