This is part of the Sermon on the Mount which begins in Matthew 5 with what are called the Beatitudes. What is also ignored is that it comes right after the section that people love to quote. You first find,
(Matthew 7:1 KJV) Judge not, that ye be not judged.Our world loves this verse. They don’t love what comes a few verses later:
(Matthew 7:6 KJV) Give not that which is holy unto the dogs, neither cast ye your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn again and rend you.It would seem that Jesus is telling us we need to make decisions that are close to judging. We are given the responsibility to decide who the pigs are.
Don’t feel like you need to let everyone know everything. Don’t feel that you need to let little children wash your good china. Don’t entrust your precious children to the public schools.
Pigs make good bacon but they make terrible judges at the cake competition at the county fair.
homo unius libri
My wife gets irritated with me when I use the "pearls before swine" quote, even though it's usually to warn her about users to whom she's being overly generous.
ReplyDeleteWhen I get a chance to preach or teach I often find myself saying, "I'm not the one who said this, get mad at Jesus, not me." In fact I think I have used that line on this blog.
ReplyDeleteOne of my favorite lines comes from the movie "Mary Poppins" when she replies to the little boy who tells her she is wrong, "You know best, Michael."
Actually, after 35 years of marriage, I guess the best response is, "Yes, dear."
Grace and Peace.