It took me a long time to understand the saying, “Don’t cast your pearls before swine.”
Jesus said that.
And since I was forced to attend Catholic school as a kid for 10 years, naturally I rebelled against “all things Jesus” for a long time.
It took a famous bad boy guitarist walking away from his multi-million dollar rock-and-roll lifestyle, to get me to rethink my beliefs about Biblical quotes. (Former Korn member Brian Welch walked away from the band — and a $23 million recording contract — in 2005 to follow Jesus. Korn was one of my favorite bands in high school and in my 20s…so naturally, I was intrigued by his actions!)
Fast forward today…I’m now secure enough not to care where wisdom comes from. Wisdom is wisdom.
Regardless of your spiritual/religious beliefs or upbringing, there’s profound truth in the phrase, “Don’t cast your pearls before swine.”
Darla LeDoux said it in a way I could wrap my mind around: “Give your substance where it can do most good.” This phrase comes from Raymond Holliwell in his book, Working with the Law.
It basically means “Don’t waste your time helping people who don’t want help.”
The temptation to save broken people is strong among empathetic over-givers. It gives us a nice boost of self-esteem to think we’re saving someone. And it lets us feel like we’re actually giving our gifts in the world. But it does more harm than good.
Broken people generally don’t want help. They’re not interested in changing. They are the “swine” Jesus referred to.
They self-destruct, hurt others, and therefore are stupid (AKA ignorant).
Enlightened gurus prefer to label such people as simply “not ready to evolve.” But I’m judgmental, so I call them stupid.
Whether you think broken people are stupid or simply “not ready to change” — the important thing is not to waste your time or energy trying to save or help them.
The truth is, there are people out there who COULD benefit from what you offer…and you need to find THOSE people. They’re actively searching for your solution. They want your help. They’re willing to pay money for it. Your job is simply to find them, and market to them in a way that turns the switch “on” in their brain for whatever you’re offering.
All others are swine. Or they’re simply not interested in your solution. Gracefully let them go.
Talk soon,
Michelle
Michelle Lopez Boggs is a copywriter, copywriting mentor, and author of "The Anti-Marketing Manifesto: How to Sell Without Being a Sellout." She's helped her clients sell millions of dollars' worth of products and services online by using the MEI(S) principle — motivate, educate, and inspire, and sell. 