The Commands of Christ, Part Sixteen

When I first looked at this scripture, I prayed a quick prayer, telling God that I had no idea what He wanted me to say about it. His response came quickly: “Then start writing.” Let’s start by looking at the scripture for Command 16; Matthew 7:6 (NASB20)

Do not give what is holy to dogs, and do not throw your pearls before pigs, or they will trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you to pieces.

Now, I love my dogs. I make fun of them a lot. I complain about them a lot. But they’re good dogs. But my 100+ pound toddler of a dog (he’s an Irish Wolfhound) isn’t the dog Jesus is talking about here. He’s also not talking about any of the other dogs that live here (at the time of this writing, we have 7, one of whom belongs to my son in the Air Force, but we’re taking care of him). Jesus is not saying that I can’t give me dogs good things: I can give them love, compassion, kindness, and cheeseburgers. None of that goes against what Christ is saying here. In this particular verse, Jesus is using “dogs” as a metaphor for someone of an impure mind, or an impudent person. Yes, the Greek word used is the Greek word for a literal dog, but it has both meanings: a literal dog or one who behaves like a wild dog.

So, you would think that Christ would want us to give His holy message to someone with an impure mind. They need it, right? Instead of focusing on “impure” let’s focus on “impudent.” Merriam-Webster defines impudent as, “marked by contemptuous or cocky disrespect of others: very rude: insolent.” It also defines contemptuous as, “manifesting, feeling, or expressing deep hatred or disapproval… “ It defines “insolent” as either, “rude or impolite: having or showing a lack of respect for other people.”

To continue using my real dogs as an example: the first Irish Wolfhound my wife and I owned was named Mal. Either me or my wife could leave a freshly cooked steak on the table, walk away for 10 minutes, come back and it would be untouched. He knew it was our food. If any of our kids walked away for 10 seconds, however, their food was fair game. Mal, for all the things we loved about him, was insolent toward the kids. Why such a difference in behavior? Well, the kids often fed him from the table when they were all told not to. My wife and I would only give Mal scraps after we’d finished our meal. We made him sit first. We made him be gentle. He was a huge 120+ pound dog that on his hind legs was over 6 feet tall. He had to learn gentleness. He ate from our plate when we were done. He knew that.

With the kids, that line was blurred. Sometimes, they’d give him a pizza crust while still eating a slice of pizza. There wasn’t a clear process for him to know what was truly “his” versus what was belonged to the kids. He wasn’t insolent, he just didn’t know the boundaries. He didn’t know what was “holy” to them when it came to food. He did, however, know which stuffed animals were precious to each of them. He knew which toys not to touch and on which beds he was most welcome (this dog had his own twin sized bed but insisted on being on a bed with a person whenever possible).

It didn’t take long for the kids to learn that if they wanted to keep Mal from eating their food they needed to put it in the microwave or somewhere secure before they left the table. They’d trained him that walking away from the table meant he had free access to their plates. New training had to happen.

Now, you might be thinking, “What does this story about a clearly amazing dog who was the absolute best good boy have to do with this verse from the Bible?” It’s simple, really: protect what’s holy.

Got any guesses at what is considered holy? Let me give you some scriptures that might help, all from the NASB20 translation:

Deuteronomy 7:6

For you are a holy people to the Lord your God; the Lord your God has chosen you to be a people for His personal possession out of all the peoples who are on the face of the earth.

Hebrews 10:10-14

By this will, we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all time. Every priest stands daily ministering and offering time after time the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins, but He, having offered one sacrifice for sins for all time, sat down at the right hand of God, waiting from that time onward until His enemies are made a footstool for his feet. For by one offering He has perfected for all time those who are sanctified.

Sanctification is the process of making something or someone holy. If you are believer in Jesus Christ, seeking a deep and personal relationship with the Father through the Holy Spirit and you accept that this is only possible because of the sacrifice that Jesus made for us on the cross: you are holy. You are precious to the one who saved you. You are set apart for a divine purpose by the Heavenly Father. You should not be giving yourself to unholy things.

What makes someone or something unholy? Who are the dogs? If pearls are our precious things, who are the pigs? We’re getting there.

The dogs and the pigs represent the same things and the same people. They represent the unholy influences in your life. If you’re hoping for a checklist, this is where I’m going to let you down because I am not going to give you one. Instead, I’m going to give you a litmus test. Here it goes: Anything that draws you away from serving God is an unholy influence. If video games are the reason you don’t have time for Bible study and prayer: they are an unholy influence in your life. If your partner hates the fact that you are going to church and trying to become a better person: they are an unholy influence in your life. If a friend or partner is attempting to convince you to go against something you feel convicted of by God, they are an unholy influence.

In any situation, you can determine who the dogs are, because they have their teeth dug deep into your soul and they are trying to pull you from the hands of God. In any situation, you can determine who the pigs are, but because they are trying to convince you to disregard things God has told you are precious to Him. And, as Jesus clearly states, allowing either pigs or dogs to win is going to tear you to pieces.

The reason I don’t like to give a list of unholy things is because if I fail to include something on that list, it can be used as something unholy. Remember Command 15: we have to judge ourselves first. My list of unholy things in my life is quite likely different than yours. We might share some things, but the whole list will not be identical. My sinful flesh is likely drawn to different things than yours. The enemy knows this and is going to tempt me with different things than he tempts you. If I give you my list, the enemy is going to tell you that as long as you’re not doing what’s on my list, everything is okay. You have to make your own list. That, is something I can help with.

1. Is there scripture that confirms this thing is pleasing to God? The key here isn’t to find the first verse that says it pleases God. The key is to look for multiple verses that talk about it. Do they all say it pleases God? Do they show conditions on when and how it pleases God to do something? God answers a lot about what is pleasing to Him in scripture. Check there first. If you can’t find an answer: pray. God will either give you peace that it’s okay or he won’t.
2. Is there scripture that confirms this thing does not please God? Even if you answered yes in number 1, you still need to do at least number 2. Why? Because sometimes, God puts conditions on what pleases Him. It pleases God for us to rest and be relaxed on the day he set aside for that. It does not please God for us to be lazy every other day of the week.
3. Is there evidence in my life that this draws me closer to God? Let’s be honest, we have a lot of things the ancient Greeks and Hebrews didn’t. I don’t know that any of them had tiny computers they could keep in their pockets that also happened to make phone calls! You’re not going to find Jesus saying, “Hey, don’t doom scroll on your phone while pretending to be using the bathroom.” But you will find clear instructions of how we are supposed to prioritize and spend our time. Does your daily scrolling interfere with that? If so, it’s an ungodly influence. Is your feed, instead of being filled with doom and distraction, filled with pastors and people of God guiding you through scripture and making you feel spiritually nourished? Then congrats on telling the algorithm that’s what you want to see!
4. Is there evidence in my life that this draws me further from God? Get familiar with the fruits of the Spirit. These are provided to us in the Bible for a reason. When we are abiding in Christ, following in His example, the fruits kind of just happen. He pushes that fruit from us because we are getting our nourishment from Him. Jesus is cool like that. If something in your life is causing you to produce less fruit, it is drawing you farther from God. Now before cut that thing out of your life, pray about it, confess it, ask God to show you what to do about it. Wait on His guidance. Otherwise, you’re doing your will, not God’s.
5. Am I using this to replace something God is meant to do in my life? This is a hard one, especially for me. So let me give a personal example. I really enjoy good scotch. A single bottle of scotch will last me and my wife about 2-3 months depending on how much time we spend outside with a fire. I also enjoy the taste of a specific beer. A 12-pack will typically last me 2-3 weeks. It would be very easy for me to use alcohol to calm me down when I’m angry. It would be easy to use alcohol to help me to stop feeling things I don’t want to feel. But those are both things I’m supposed to turn to God for. When I struggle, I am called to turn to God, not things of this world. Jesus was called a drunk by the Pharisees so it’s safe to assume they at least thought he drank wine. But when Jesus was feeling distraught, exhausted, or overwhelmed, he sought the Father. You can replace alcohol with cigarettes, drugs, sex, video games, social media, chasing acceptance, and countless other things. But using anything to fill a gap God is meant to fill means that thing is drawing you farther from God.
6. Will doing this cause a fellow Christian to stumble? As I said in the last point, I like a couple specific alcoholic beverages. I am confident that while my Bible teaches me to remain sober and not to be a drunkard, it doesn’t tell me that it displeases God for me to enjoy the taste of a well-made lager or scotch. If someone were to come to my home, Christian or otherwise, and I know that person has a troubled history with alcohol, I’m not drinking while they are in my home. I may go so far as to put my alcohol in a place they can’t see it. Not that I have anything to hide, but so I do not cause them to stumble. I think we are called to go out of our way not to be stumbling blocks for others. If I’m struggling to abstain from something for the sake of a fellow human, and especially a fellow Christian, then it’s probably being used to replace something in my life God was meant to replace.

If you can make it through that whole list, while being honest with yourself, and feel at peace doing the thing you want to do: it’s probably not an unholy influence. So remember, as a believer in Christ, you are one of God’s holy chosen, set aside for a greater purpose through Him. Don’t put yourself in a position to be trampled on and torn apart.