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NIV
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 turn and tear you to pieces. 7 "Ask
and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be
opened to you. 8 For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks
finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened. 9
"Which of you, if your son asks for bread, will give him a stone? 10
Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? 11 If you, then,
though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much
more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him! 12
So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this
sums up the Law and the Prophets.
We have
all heard the adage: Sticks and stones may break my bones but words will never
hurt me. The truth is words used in the right, or wrong way can hurt. They can
cause tremendous pain and suffering. Words can be a powerful tool if used in
the right way in and right circumstance. Some of the most powerful speeches of
recent time have carried the weight of perfectly honed communication skills. If
I were to say, Ask not what your country can do for you, you would immediately
think of John F. Kennedy’s famous inauguration address. Or I have a dream
immediately brings to mind the civil rights movement and Dr. Martin Luther
King.
Mark
Twain is quoted as saying, – “The difference between the right word and almost
right word is the difference between lightning and lightning bug.”[i] I like that analogy don’t
you? Consider the impact when Eve said, I ate… and how that changed the course
of human existence. Or all you military buffs might remember, I shall return
and the impact that had on the Pacific Theatre in World War II. Jesus talks
about the power of the word. James quotes Him in 3:6, NIV
James 3:6 The tongue also is a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body.
It corrupts the whole body, sets the whole course of one's life on fire, and is
itself set on fire by hell. James has a certain view about life and the
human condition that is a little dark at times. But there is truth.
When I teach it for children’s moment, I love the
toothpaste example. We squeeze the tube and then talk about how it cannot be
put back in. How words are like that. For our young and young at heart,
remember that when you post on Facebook, Instagram, or the other hundreds of
places on the internet where you can express your feelings. Some feelings are
better left in your mind and not voiced or written anywhere.
Jesus preached in the context of His day. Always remember
that whenever you are reading the Bible. Many of the analogies and parables
that He uses do not make sense to us today until we set them in the context of
His day. Some of this text today is that way. Dogs and Pigs were considered
unclean animals. To us today we consider dogs as pets and they enjoy an
elevated image from Jesus day. Pigs are the same way. So when Jesus says that
you would not give the good meat to the dogs he is talking about consecrated
sacred meat that has been prayed over. It is the meat that is to be consumed in
a Hebrew ritual or to provide atonement and should never be given to the stray
dogs that were in and around the cities of His day. Likewise, you would not
take a string of pearls and throw them in with the pigs. First of all, they
would think them food and tear them apart. Of course when they realized they
were not food they might get angry and attack the person who threw them in.
But what does it mean? Jesus is reminding us about
priorities. If we share the good news of the Gospel with people, the truth of
God’s message of love and grace, and they refuse it, it is no different than
sharing a steak with a stray dog. It devours it and then simply wants more
without appreciating what it received. As people, we do the same thing. When
given something important we too often do not say to ourselves, that was
wonderful and we are blessed. Rather we say, when can we have more and allow
greed to prevail rather than gratitude.
So what do we do? We pray! Plain and simple, we pray. But
Jesus even admonishes us about that as well. If we remember last week’s lesson,
Jesus tells us not to do these things so as to bring attention to ourselves,
but to do so for the glory of God and to bring people into relationship with
God. There are hundreds of ways to pray, that is not the point of the
discussion here. The point is what do we pray for and how persistent should we
be in prayer. If you are praying for a Maserati, your prayers are probably not
going to be answered, at least not an affirmation of that prayer. The point
here is that if we are praying for the will of God to be discerned to us or we
are praying for benevolence for others or to do the work of God, God is
listening and will respond. Jesus is saying that when we pray with a clean
heart, God will respond. But we have to be persistent in our prayers. Ask and
it will be given to you, seek and you shall find it and knock and the door will
be opened. Jesus emphasizes this one aspect of this important lesson.
God wants us to be in prayer. It is our communication
link with God. Our words have great meaning when we come with open hearts to
God. When we bare our souls, ask for repentance, ask for abundance for others
and ask God to share with us what God wants for us, God responds. But we have
to come to God persistently and humbly. I love contemplative and centering
prayer and share it with those who are willing to listen. Remember the dogs and
pigs from earlier. People tell me all the time, Preacher, God never answers my
prayers. My response is, what are you praying for and how open is your heart to
hear God. God will respond but sometimes the problem is we are listening.
Jesus concludes this passage in an interesting way. He
reminds us that we must do everything with a clean and loving heart. Here lies
the beauty of words used in the proper way. If someone asks you for a loaf of bread,
you would not give him or her a stone. Or if they ask you for fish because they
are hungry you would not give them a snake. That is evil. No- a loving person
would give them food to help their hungry condition. They would look after that
person’s welfare above their own. Isn’t that the way God works with us? If we
live our lives in humility, love and grace then God will respond to us in the
same way. Think about it for a moment.
Jesus did not write the golden rule. It existed long
before Jesus physically walked on the earth. But He uses it here to emphasize
all that He has been teaching. In everything, we treat people the way that we
want to be treated. How we treat other people is how they will respond to us
and God will respond as well. This is a fulfillment of the law and prophets. In
other words, Jesus is saying everything the Bible stands for is fulfilled when
we share God’s love with the world, putting God and others first.
In everything,
Jesus is inviting us to look at our priorities in life. Take stock of what is
important and what it is that God wants of us. If we come with open humble
hearts and ask God, God will provide. If we seek God and love, one another God
will allow us to find happiness and contentment even in a broken world. Jesus
invites us to re-evaluate what the world wants us to hear and listen to what
God wants us to know. The very essence of the law is that we are not to judge others;
we are to care for them. We are share the love of God with all people,
regardless. We are to discern the will of God for the church, for the people
and for the world. Whatever God wants us to do we need to prepare ourselves to
persistently give our all? Words do have meaning. What do our words say about
us?
[i]
Twain, Mark, quoted by Haddon W. Robinson in Biblical Preaching (Grand Rapids,
MIch: Baker Book House, 1980), p 176
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