Dr Folu Olatona
Don’t waste what is holy on people who are unholy. Don’t throw your pearls to pigs! They will trample the pearls, then turn and attack you (Matt 7:6)
Pearls represent expensive resources. We should be careful whom we share our treasures (time, money, talent, reproofs, corrections and others resources) with. Some are really far away from God and considered unholy by the Bible. They are like dirty animals like pigs or dogs who cannot appreciate what you have to offer. They will trample on your treasure, waste it and turn back to attack you. The context of this scripture is correction or reproof reading from v1 to 6. Pearls are expensive, therefore the corrections of reproof you may have for other people are considered as expensive in God’s economy. Don’t throw your resources including ‘corrections’ and ‘reproofs’ around on different people anyhow.
This verse shows us that all men cannot be treated equally. It is not everyone who does wrong or needs correction that we are allowed to correct. It doesn’t mean that we don’t love them but we may not have access to their hearts therefore our corrections will be wasted and they will hate us for it.
This lesson is confirmed by Prov. 9:7-8; 23:9. Whoever corrects a mocker invites insults; whoever rebukes the wicked incurs abuse. 8 Do not rebuke mockers or they will hate you; rebuke the wise and they will love you.
Be careful who you share words with. If you speak in the ears of a fool, he will despise the wisdom of your words. If you try to correct a scorner, he will despise it and even hate you for it, but if you correct a wise man, he will love you for it. Just in case you are wondering who is a mocker, it is simply someone who is not wise. Someone who does not pay attention to God’s words. The person may be born again but is not committed to obeying God’s words; he may even make fun of some truths in the Bible.
It is a waste of time, energy and other hidden resources to correct someone who is not wise.
(One great lesson here is that we should not hate correction thereby cultivating the lifestyle of a fool; otherwise, wise people will stop correcting us. Anyone who stops receiving correction is destroying his destiny)
Based on Acts 13:45-46, some people would envy you because of the followership you command or other achievements; thereby always rubbishing whatever you have to offer no matter how good it is. Be careful of such people.