DOGS AND PIGS

11/22/2023

"Do not give what is holy to the dogs; nor cast your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you in pieces." (Matthew 7:6)

There are two types of people who pose an existential threat to you if you treat them inappropriately. These people may even be Christians, and being naive about them will only spell doom. 

In today's theme scripture, we are admonished not to give what is holy to dogs. What does "holy" mean, and who are "dogs?" Holy here refers to intimate details. These may be spiritual intimate details or personal intimate details. In the Bible, Joseph telling his dream to his brothers might be an example of this. "Now Joseph had a dream, and he told it to his brothers; and they hated him even more" (Genesis 37:5). There are things about you that dogs should never know; things you should never put out into the world, whether it is on social media or in your in-person interaction with others because there are dogs around. 

So, who are dogs? Philippians 3:2 says, "Beware of the dogs, beware of the evil workers, beware of the false circumcision." Dogs are traditionalists. These people hold an unchanging view of you that is less than God's view of you. The Bible describes them as eaters of profane things (1 Kings 14:11; 1 Kings 16:4 and 1 Kings 21:24) and those who return to their vomit (Proverbs 26:11). I know that the contemporary understanding of dogs as loyal creatures has been fetishized but dogs are also a metaphor for unpersuadable folks. Dogs are most likely to demean, devalue, and degrade the spiritual, so you should never share spiritually intimate matters with these people, no matter how close you are to them.

Pearls, on the other hand, are divine revelations. These are precious things that are not apparent to the senses, even at the highest bastions of human wisdom. When Peter acknowledged Jesus as the Christ, that was a pearl. "Jesus answered and said to him, "Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven, And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it." (Matthew 16:17). Pigs, then, are profane individuals. And profanity here may not necessarily mean dirty or sexually immoral even though it is implied. Rather, it means sense-ruled. The Bible says that we conduct ourselves, "looking carefully lest anyone fall short of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up cause trouble, and by this many become defiled; est there be any fornicator or profane person like Esau, who for one morsel of food sold his birthright." Those ones that mock speaking in tongues, mock miracles, and have a hard time believing in the move of God are classic definitions of profane persons. If they cannot make meaning of a matter with their senses, they devalue it. 

The thing with dogs and pigs is that they stifle the move of God and pose an existential threat to people, groups, churches, and nations. They usurp potential, and it is difficult to operate in your supernatural potential around them. Of them, the Bible says, "For it would have been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than having known it, to turn from the holy commandment delivered to them. But it has happened to them according to the true proverb: "A dog returns to his own vomit," and, "a sow, having washed, to her wallowing in the mire." (2 Peter 2:21-22). 

Now, while we must pursue peace and holiness with everyone (according to Hebrews 12:14), identifying dogs and pigs is a necessity so that you don't share intimate details and divine revelations with them that may weaponize them against your walk with the LORD.

Have a blessed day!

Faith-Filled Confession

I am discerning of people the Bible calls dogs and pigs. I am tempered to relate with them in love but with discretion, knowing that intimate information about myself and revelations that I have received from the LORD are not to be shared with these ones. I am wise, and I make wise decisions in all my dealings. In Jesus' name. Amen

Prayer Points:

Psalm 122:6, "Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: "May they prosper who love you."

• Pray for the peace of Jerusalem. 

• Pray against plans to use the crises in Israel to launch other attacks in the United States.

• Pray for Washington and all who are in positions of authority in the United States.

ONE-YEAR READING PLAN: Ezekiel 20-21; James 1