Matthew 7:6 Do not give dogs what is sacred; do not throw your pearls to pigs. If you do, they may trample them under their feet, and then turn and tear you to pieces.
This passage causes me to pause and reflect on those who would hear our message of hope. Years of sinful living make many people addictively focused on the world around them. Materialism drives their seeing, hearing and speaking. This alone is a challenge to overcome. But the Holy Spirit is able to remove the scales from their eyes.
This passage leads me to some general deductions about my audience. The full effect of sin on the unbeliever is evident in these words of Jesus. Man is so blinded from the truth that he will react with extremely negative feelings towards me and the Word of God. His world is threatened by the very mention of “God” or stating that there is a universal truth to be known. Sin has so dominated his existence that he refuses to allow anything so threatening to enter his thoughts or to have a relationship with.
The nature God's Word is so powerful a force to cause such reaction in people. His Word is varied and complete in its nature. There is knowledge for every level of man's understanding and for every aspect of his life. Some portions can only be appreciated by ones with deeper faith. The variety of God's Word can be compared to the food of the body, such as milk and meat. The fear of choosing the wrong passage is minimized by the fact that “all Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training”. (2 Timothy 3:16)
God's Word seems to require the human element when it is presented and fully understood. The story of the eunuch in Acts 8 helps explain this idea. The indiscriminate distribution of tracts seems, to me, not to be scriptural. We are to be careful in how we share the Word of God. It is best to know about the person(s) with whom we speak. To see them face to face allows us to know what impact we are having and how the Holy Spirit is working in them. May He guide us.
