Daily Devotional
"Do not give dogs what is holy, and do not throw your pearls before pigs, lest they trample them underfoot and turn to attack you."
Matthew 7:6
If you only heard last week’s sermon on the speck and the plank, you might have walked away thinking the whole goal of the Christian life is to never make a judgment about anything. Matthew 7:6 exists to keep you out of that ditch. Jesus has just told us not to be harsh, and now, in the very next breath, he tells us not to be careless. There are two ways to fall off this road, and a hardened heart can use either one to ruin a soul.
France and Carson both note how abruptly this verse arrives. We were talking about specks and planks, and suddenly Jesus is talking about dogs and pigs and pearls. It is not a change of subject. It is the counterweight. Grace without wisdom becomes carelessness, and wisdom without grace becomes cruelty. Jesus refuses to let you keep only the half of his teaching that feels comfortable.
Robert Jones, in his work on anger, names the target well: the goal is to become wiser and more gracious people helpers. Not wise instead of gracious. Not gracious instead of wise. Both, held together, the way Jesus held them. This week the Lord wants to grow that double grace in you.
Today's Challenge
Which ditch is more tempting for you, the harshness that judges everyone, or the carelessness that never risks an honest word? Be specific about the last time you fell into it.
Prayer
Father, you held wisdom and grace together perfectly. I tend to grab one and drop the other. Teach me to be both wise and gracious this week. Show me the ditch I keep falling into, and lift me back onto the road. In Jesus' name, Amen.
