“Do not give what is holy to the dogs; nor cast your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you in pieces.” Matthew 7:6 NKJV
We can all create and give value. This value has been the foundation for inventions, advancement, and growth. What we enjoy today is because of the value created. But the fact is even though everything is good, we will appreciate them differently.
For example, a PC is an asset which I need to get work done. For a craftsman, it’s a chisel. I don’t have any business using a chisel and if I owned one, it’d rust in a box. The craftsman on the other hand may probably underutilise a PC if he had one, restricting its use to just movies and music. Both are valuable assets but are used and appreciated differently.
Now imagine that you work so hard producing chisels to sell them to people like me. Although you’re working hard and might be passionate about it, the value you created becomes irrelevant because it won’t give the ripple effect that it should. Eventually, the value doesn’t come back to you in the form of revenue or product testimonials. All the hard work seems like a waste.
Sometimes we give our time and money to people, and we don’t get the kind of appreciation we expect. While it’s noble to give without expecting anything in return, it’s also wise to understand the kind of value the receiver will recognise and act accordingly.
Why give pearls to pigs and mud to my wife when I can flip them and get satisfaction in return? Better to use loamy soil for your seeds and sandy soil for your buildings; flip them and you’ll have neither food nor shelter.
As you create and give value, don’t do it mindlessly just because it’s good to give. Be intentional about it so that you don’t have a reason to quit giving because it never comes back.
Leave a Reply